The Super Sons
by oksofia
Summary: Complete! Bruce and Clark's sons from a parallel universe accidentally drop by for a visit...
1. Prologue

**Hi! I'm a little bit rusty on writing fanfic, but this idea has been swimming around in my head for ages and I finally got around to putting it on paper. This story is based on stories of the Super Sons by Bob Haney that were in a bunch of World's Finest issues from the 70s/80s. The premise is that Supes and Bats have kids (the imaginitively named Clark Jr. and Bruce Jr.) who also want to fight crime but their dads won't let them, so they're always complaining about a "generation gap" and saying things like "Alfred! Douse that freaky light!"**

**Anywho, this story is a Superman/Batman friendship fic (with some sm/ll and bm/ww thrown in, don't worry), mostly in cannon, and I've tried to keep everyone in character. And disclaimers: I own nothing that belongs to DC Comics and the Super Sons were created by Bob Haney!**

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**THE SUPER SONS**

**Prologue**

Clark had just pulled on his sweats, popped open a bottle of strawberry Yoo-hoo, and turned on the game when Batman showed up in his living room. It wasn't a good sign. Superman could deal with Batman, Clark could (kind of) deal with Bruce, but Clark and Batman? Never good. "H-hey, Batman," he said when he managed to push past the dread and swallow the sad little sip of Yoo-hoo.

Batman glanced over Clark's shoulder at the TV. "The Monarchs are going to lose this one."

"Says who?" demanded their ever-loyal fan.

"All of the bookies," replied Batman matter-of-factly and before Clark could protest he continued, "They need us at the Watchtower. J'onn contacted me telepathically. He says it's a matter that requires the utmost discretion."

"Discretion?" Clark arched an eyebrow.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Before he could offer a half-hearted protest, the on-air sportscaster interrupted them by declaring "_AND THE MONARCHS HAVE ANOTHER MAN OUT!_" Bruce shrugged as Clark sighed. The latter took one final swig of Yoo-hoo before he clicked off the TV and changed into his suit.

**Xx**

John was waiting for them in the hangar. "Good, you're here. We've got kind of a situation. Follow me and act natural."

Clark understood that this directive was meant for him because Bruce was next to him as stone-faced as ever. Well he himself was dying of curiosity, so excuse him for acting the most human out of the three. _Maybe those two are the aliens_, he thought to himself as he followed John, and the thought made him feel better.

(It was natural for Clark to be a little cranky. He had had to sort out Mxyzptlk right before heading off-world for a few days; when he came back he found out that the new copy editor at the Planet was flirting with Lois _and she was letting him_. It was all enough to make him hurry home at five, pull on his college sweats, and drown his sorrows in high fructose corn syrup before Bruce had interrupted him.)

Unfortunately, things weren't about to get any easier. John punched in an access code to the Founders' meeting room and then leaned forward for the retina scan. The door slid open and the three walked in to find J'onn standing in the corner with his arms crossed and Flash talking in hushed tones to two strangers… wait, strangers in their meeting room?

One of the strangers looked up and then nudged the other one, and then Clark found himself staring into a pair of amethyst eyes that were utterly familiar yet somehow misplaced. Before he could put two and two together, those eyes sparkled in recognition and their owner exclaimed, "Thank goodness you're here, dad!"

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**Sorry this is so short, but I wanted to set things up. The next chapter will pick up, I promise!**


	2. Meet the Super Sons

Chapter 1: Meet the Super Sons

Bruce figured it out at once. The boy's eyes were Lois's. The rest of him was what Clark would have been at around seventeen and his use of the word "dad" confirmed that he was indeed Lois and Clark's son.

He glanced over at Clark, who appeared ready to fall over. "…Dad?" he sputtered, "But I… I don't… wait – _Dad_?"

"Right," clipped Bruce, "Who are you?"

The other boy who had been silent until now grinned at him cheekily. "Don't get too smug, old man, _you've_ got one too."

Bruce studied him impassively. He appeared to be some years older than Clark's "son," and he didn't resemble Dick or Tim, although he must have spent time with them to address him so nonchalantly by their nickname for him. He examined the young man's face for any signs of familiarity; when it dawned on him that he was searching for Diana's features he silently cursed himself before looking away.

"Who sent you here?" he demanded, now growing angry.

"I see we're jumping straight to the paranoia. It's nice to know that you're consistent in all dimensions," the boy said lazily, "No one *sent* us, we accidentally ended up here from a parallel universe."

"There was a tectonic disturbance near the North Pole," interjected J'onn, "I sent GL to investigate and he found these two and brought them to the Watchtower when they claimed to be your sons. I have scanned their minds with their permission and they appear to fully believe their claims."

"And why is Flash here?" Bruce challenged (as if this wasn't already enough of a recipe for a migraine).

"Because they recognized me as Wally," grinned Flash as he looked over his shoulder. "Apparently in their universe I go by Kid Flash, which is a cool name if you ask me. Maybe I should consider rebranding myself as the cooler, younger JL Founder ins—"

Bruce cut him off and addressed the two young men. "So you two are from a parallel universe where you claim that Superman and I are your fathers, and you accidentally ended up here where our Justice League _happened_ to find you and brought you straight to us?"

"We don't *claim* to be your sons, we *are* your sons, Uncle Buhhh…" Little Clark/Lois realized that he was unwittingly about to reveal a secret identity and then corrected himself, "Buhhh-atman. Uncle Batman."

By this time, Clark had managed to pull himself together and put his hand on Bruce's arm. "Will you kids excuse us? Uncle Batman and I need to sidebar with J'onn, GL, and Flash." Bruce glowered at him then stalked outside with the others.

"You say their story checks out?" Clark inquired.

"I found them near your Fortress," explained John, "They knew that I was a Green Lantern but they were expecting Kyle Rayner. Batman's son has a driver's license confirming that his home address is Wayne Manor but Superman's is too young to have one."

"Yes," J'onn calmly confirmed, "They have no ulterior motives and their molecules are indeed vibrating at a different frequency than ours. If you require further proof of their innocence I can call in Diana to use her lasso—"

"NO." The last thing Bruce needed was for Diana to become involved in this mess.

"Are you two certain that you have not fathered any children in this universe outside of your knowledge?" asked J'onn. John hid a smile, while Bruce's annoyance mounted as he watched Clark blubber again.

"Those are _Lois's_ eyes!" cried Clark, "I had only just *met* Lois back then, I certainly didn't, um…"

"Fine," J'onn nodded, "And you, Batman?"

Bruce was considering the women he had slept with circa twenty years ago. There were several and even if he narrowed them down to just the Caucasian ones there was a still a sizable pool. None of them would have singlehandedly raised a billionaire's son without staking claim to his wealth, however. "Yes, I'm sure," he said finally.

"So what are we going to do with them?" asked John. "We could keep them in the Watchtower until we figure out how to send them back."

"Not in the Watchtower. We'll have to take them with us. The less know about this League, the better. Even if they aren't spies, things they learn here can have consequences if they apply them in their own world. Kent and I will talk to them." But on seeing that Kent appeared fully recovered and even a little excited about the prospect, Bruce felt a particular kind of migraine coming along that only Superman could induce.

**Xx**

Bruce and Clark sat down across from their two… sons, while the other three Leaguers occupied the remaining seats.

"Satisfied?" asked parallel-Bruce's son with a glint of amusement in his eyes and Clark felt the same look reflect in his own. Bruce was about to growl when Clark stopped him. (He was much calmer now that he understood what was happening. In fact, he was happy. At least *somewhere* he and Lois were married with children and with no copy editors to use the "no ring" excuse to flirt with her.) "Ignore Batman, he's just being Batman," he apologized. "You two clearly know who we are, but we'd like to know about you. J'onn, Green Lantern, and Flash know our identities, so speak freely. What are your names?"

The older boy stood up and extended his hand to Clark. "Batson Wayne," he introduced himself and they shook hands.

"Batson?" Flash near-shrieked. "You named your kid BATSON?"

Batson grinned. "It was my mom's idea. She says that the day she told dad what she named me is the day that dad invented the Batglare. Oh, there it is! He's giving it to you right now, Wally."

Sure enough, Bruce was staring daggers at Wally, but Wally didn't seem to care. He now had more ammunition against Bruce than he knew what to do with. "Well it's *great* to meet you," he continued enthusiastically, "And I thought 'Batcave' and 'batarang' were creative!"

Out of respect for Bruce's sullenness, Clark had managed to keep a straight face throughout all of this, as difficult as it was not to laugh. But now it was his turn to receive some playful ribbing. What was _his_ son's name? Would it be Superson? Manson? No… Sam, after Lois's father? Krypto? Was it Krypto? No, that was his dog's name – he was too excited to think straight!

"And I'm Clark Kent, Jr."

Well, so much for that.

"Aww," Flash added.

"You said that you accidentally ended up in this universe," pressed Bruce (while silently congratulating parallel-Lois for preventing Clark from naming his son 'Krypto'), "How?"

"Well we were hanging out in the Cave and CJ – that's Clark Jr. – said that his dad got a pretty sweet fire-breathing cat-thing at the Fortress. We were figuring out how to teleport ourselves there when our molecules took a detour and we ended up near *your* Fortress instead. Not sure why there was an earthquake where we appeared, though."

Clark smiled. "I brought a fire-breathing cat into the fortress this week, too," he said, "It's called a demelh. I can show you two if you'd like."

Batson was about to respond, but instead settled for exchanging a warm smile with Clark when Bruce interrupted, "Why didn't you fly there or use the Batwing?"

"I can't fly," said Clark Jr., "and you banned Batson from using the Batwing after the last time he took it out for a joyride—OW" (Batson had kicked him under the table for revealing this).

Bruce's migraine suddenly flared. "Now you know that we can't keep you in the Watchtower…" he began through gritted teeth.

"Of course," agreed Clark Jr., "The less we know about this universe, the better."

Bruce actually gave a nod in acknowledgement (to everyone's surprise) and continued, "…so we're taking you to our homes, where you'll be comfortable but out of the way. Meanwhile J'onn, Mr. Terrific, and I will work on a way to send you back. CJ, you go with Clark to his place in Metropolis, and you, you come with me."

"Batson," urged Batson, "My name is Batson."

"Hmgh," Bruce grunted as Batson winked at Clark.

* * *

**In the Super Sons issues, the Super Moms' faces were always covered with veils, hats, or hair so that the reader wouldn't be able to tell if she was Lois/Lana or Selina/Talia - hehe! Can you guess who Batson's mom is in this story? (hint: it might not be Selina/Talia!) **


	3. Prodigal Super Sons

**I'm so glad that you guys thought Batson was as funny of a name as I did! I was afraid that no one else would laugh. Let's see if you guys agree with my choice for his mom, though... dun dun dunnnnnnh!**

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Chapter 2: Prodigal Super Sons

CJ was a good little soul, Clark decided, but he had a tendency to intellectualize too much. "In this universe, are you married to Lois Lane or Lana Lang?" CJ asked as they stood in front Clark's apartment.

"Oh…" (he suddenly found it difficult not to fumble the keys in his hands) "Neither, actually."

"Really? That's surprising."

"Is it?" asked Clark through gritted teeth. There! He finally got the door open.

"Absolutely. You're about the biggest romantic I know. After Uncle Bruce, that is."

Bruce? A romantic? Well this was certainly news. What kind of a perfect universe did CJ come from, where Lois and Clark were happily married for years and Bruce was functional enough to be romantic? Clark felt a twinge of jealousy. "Well on _this_ earth, Lois and I started dating about two years ago."

"Lois! Good, I like her."

"She's your mother."

"She is."

Silence. They sat across from each other in the living room. Clark decided that making eye contact with CJ was dangerous as there was too much Lois in them. "So… do you live in this same apartment over there too?" he asked, feeling at a loss.

CJ nodded. "This is the upstairs. My parents combined their apartments when they got married."

"That's a great idea." Another twinge.

"Sorry," CJ reddened slightly, "I don't know if I should have said that. I'm not supposed to reveal much about my life to you. I guess I'm feeling a little homesick."

This, Clark could understand. "Hey, don't worry about it. You've had quite a journey. Make yourself at home. The fridge is fully stocked with strawberry _and_ chocolate Yoo-hoo and I have all eight of the Harry Potter movies right by the DVD player." CJ smiled and Clark marveled that Lois's smile was showing from his own features on the boy's face.

Suddenly, there was the telltale sound of a doorknob turning. _Lois!_ (Ever since he told Lois that he was also Superman, she no longer felt the need to knock. It frustrated Clark to no end. There were some secrets that a man _wanted_ to keep from the girl of his dreams, after all. Being able to use the bathroom in secret, for one). "Clarkie, you there?" she called out.

"Hey, mom!" CJ cried, and then clapped his hands over his mouth in horror when he realized what he had done. He and Clark exchanged looks of terror, but before they could react Lois had marched in. "What did you just call me, Smallville?" She noticed CJ. "Hi, I'm Lois. You are?"

If Lois found out that they had a teenage son she would be scared off for good, he just knew it. He had to act fast. "Um, my cousin!" Clark cried wildly, "This is my cousin, CJ." CJ nodded enthusiastically.

"Another 'cousin'?" she asked pointedly.

"No, he's from the other side of the family."

Lois studied CJ. "Well there's a weird resemblance," she said slowly, "Your eyes…"

CJ stood up abruptly. "Yeah, my eyes. Well, I've got JRA. Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. So my eyes are pretty messed up." He grabbed a pair of Ray-Bans that were on the coffee table and hastily shoved them onto his face.

"You move pretty well for a kid who has JRA…"

"Yeah! Yeah, I do. Well, I'm on a long course of steroids. They're working. Yay."

"Really? You're awfully scrawny for someone who's on chronic steroids…"

"That's 'cause I pee a lot! NO fluid retention whatsoever! I've gotta go pee now! Byenicetomeetyou." CJ hightailed out of the room and Clark picked up his jaw from off of the floor. Lois turned to him.

"I didn't know you had any cousins other than Kara."

"He's a second cousin," Clark supplied.

"He looks a lot like you… and you're adopted."

Clark gulped. "It's the Kansas sun. You know, cornfed and all that other good stuff. Lois, I've been back from League business for a whole twenty four hours now and you still haven't kissed me."

Thankfully she abandoned the interrogation and with a laugh gave him a kiss that made his knees give out. "I could give you a proper welcome back right now if you want," she whispered huskily.

Clark was too dizzy to think straight. He wanted that more than anything – wanted her more than anything – wanted them to make a CJ of their own – oh _right_… CJ! "Lois, I wish I could," he whispered earnestly, "but my cousin is here for a little while longer, and we shouldn't when he's in the house."

"Right, CJ," she sighed and pulled away with her arms crossed. "What does that stand for anyway? Clark Junior?" She snorted at her own joke.

Clark gave a nervous chuckle. If only she knew.

**Xx**

On the other hand, Batson was as talkative as CJ was mild-mannered. But (to both their surprise) Bruce allowed it. Perhaps it was because Bruce suspected who CJ's mother was. He began to suspect it when Batson told the story of how he was named and the suspicion was growing stronger the more the young man talked. He had the same easygoing laugh, the same fearlessness when it came to Bruce, the same smile as his mother. That smile would haunt Bruce for nights now.

The Batwing settled in the landing bay of the Cave and Batson swung out of it as merrily as you please. "Is mom around?" he asked Bruce.

"I'm not married," Bruce grumbled.

Batson blinked twice at this. "Bummer," he offered, but then brightened up, "That means the Manor is a bachelor pad! Way to crush it, dad! I mean, Bruce! Where are Dick and Tim? Do they exist in this universe?"

"Dick is in Bludhaven and Tim is gone for a field trip." Bruce thanked Diana's gods for this. By the time Tim returned tomorrow, Batson would hopefully be back where he belonged.

"Sucks. Well I guess I'll just hang out upstairs unless you need help with anything."

"Hrm. What do you know about the teleporter that sent you into this universe?"

"Absolutely nothing," Batson grinned, "That's CJ's scene. I'm a pot-smoking philosophy major at Gotham U, by the way."

Batman was mildly surprised, as his children in this universe could program at least Fortran. "Didn't I—your father—ever try to teach you this kind of thing?"

"Never! I've been dying to be Robin ever since I can remember, but you never let me and forced me into the humanities instead. Didn't learn the other stuff you tried to teach me in a fit of teenage rebellion, so you focus your nerd energies on CJ instead. It's cool, I'm over it."

Bruce understood perfectly well why he wouldn't allow his son to be Robin – he had tried to do the same with Dick and then Tim – but was surprised that one of his boys actually listened to him. And…

Did the kid just call him a *nerd*?

Was that something that children normally said to parents? He didn't have a point of reference, he reflected. After considering for a minute, Bruce pulled back his cowl and Batson smiled fondly. "You look exactly like my Bruce Wayne," he beamed, "although it's weird to imagine him without my mother."

Alfred was there to greet them by the mainframe. He stole a glance at Batson, then at Bruce. "Alfred," said Bruce, "meet the son of Bruce Wayne in a parallel universe."

Alfred's eyes widened. "Good heavens!" he uttered.

"His name is Batson."

The corners of Alfred's mouth turned up ever so slightly, and he now studied Batson with unconcealed interest.

"It's great to see you here, Alfred," said Batson earnestly.

"And it is a delight to meet you, dear boy," Alfred returned, also earnestly.

"Batson will be staying with us until we can figure out a way to send him home. Until then, will you look after him? I'm returning to the Watchtower to deal with this." This idea suited both Alfred and Batson and with one thing out of the way Bruce went to work on the other.

But when Batman returned to the Cave three hours later, even _he_ did a double take. Everything sounded like dubstep and smelled like pizza. Batson was playing against Dick in a game of Mario Kart (using the mainframe screen as a monitor, no less) and Tim was cheering them on.

Batson looked over his shoulder at Bruce and gave him a quick nod. "Look who came back early!" Tim and Dick sniggered at their guardian, enjoying every bit of his strict order overturned. Before Bruce could say anything, Batson hit a button on his controller and the Cave returned to its previous pristine state. "No harm done, old man," he winked, "We'll just finish up in the den." With that the three boys grabbed the remaining pizza boxes and their gaming console and clamored upstairs.

Alfred appeared with a tray of sandwiches as Bruce sat down. "Master Batson is a delightful young man," he said, "You've done an excellent job of raising him."

"I didn't raise him, Alfred."

"I am quite aware of that, Master Bruce. But some version of you did, and with the help of a rather remarkable woman. The identity of his mother is very clear." He put a hand on Bruce's shoulder. "But we needn't discuss it any further."

When Alfred left, Bruce admitted to himself that he felt a pang of loneliness – and perhaps longing – when he saw the three of them being so *youthful* in his Batcave. A house full of children whose parents survived long after the children's eighth birthdays… it was a life that he could have given someone. He pulled back his cowl and reached into a rarely-used drawer by the mainframe. From it, he pulled out a locket and clicked it open to reveal a picture from twenty years ago of him and Andrea.

There they were at the peak of their youth, arms wrapped around each other, eyes brimming with hope and love. He gently touched her face and gave a soft laugh. "You named him Batson?" he asked her image. Even in another dimension Andy had the ability to effortlessly draw genuine laughter from him. But the thought of her sent a wave of joy and regret through him that he had struggled for years to suppress. Just for a few minutes he allowed himself to reminisce sadly as he looked at her picture then quickly snapped the locket shut. It was the first time he had opened it since finding it in the Cave after her death.

* * *

**Well there we go! It's Andrea from "Mask of the Phantasm," who Bruce thought was dead (she actually fled Gotham without telling him so that he could continue to be Batman guilt-free. Tres romantique!). But don't worry, BM/WW in this story. Can anyone guess which Batman rogue might have a *particular* interest in Batson in the next chapter?**


	4. A bride for a Super Son

Chapter 3: A bride for a Super Son

A full twenty-four hours had passed and neither J'onn nor Mr. Terrific had made any headway in sending the Super Sons (as Wally was now referring to them) back to their parallel earth. Secretly, Clark didn't mind it one bit. He had wanted a son for as long as he could remember and CJ was the closest he was going to get for a while. And teenagers were the most rewarding to raise! If he hurried home, they could catch the Sharks game and then stop by the diner for apple pie on the way back. He could tell CJ a funny story about Smallville, CJ could confide in him about running for student council and he could give him advice that would solve everything… that is, unless CJ had Ferris Bueller'd his way around Metropolis while Clark was at work and then Clark could give him a firm but loving reprimand while secretly chuckling over his spirited young son. Either way, it sounded like the perfect evening!

But when Clark returned from the Planet to his apartment, he saw that CJ was calmly reading a copy of "On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense" in the living room (Clark had originally bought the book for a college class that he dropped after a week).

"I thought seventeen year olds were supposed to be a more fun," said Clark a little lamely, "I figured you would have thrown a party and trashed the place while I was out."

"A rager in the afternoon?" CJ barely glanced up from his book.

"It's what Booger would've done," Clark muttered.

"Are you seriously making a Revenge of the Nerds reference right now?"

Maybe Jimmy wasn't the coolest young person to hang out with. Come to think of it, Jimmy wasn't that young anymore. Clark sat across from CJ. "So… do you play any sports?" (That was a safe bet for conversation. Clark had been fantasizing about teaching his someday-children to pitch a baseball for as long as he could remember.)

"No," said CJ, putting his book away, "I inherited your powers at half-strength so it would be unethical to compete against my classmates."

"You know, my dad didn't let me play any sports—"

"—But you tried out for the football team behind his back. I know."

"Oh. I suppose you know all of my stories."

"Most of them," CJ agreed, "but not the ones of you after you married – or didn't marry – Lois." He didn't ask for any details, no matter how much Clark was dying to give them. And they called *him* a boy scout – this kid was a _real_ stickler for the rules. What was the worst that could happen if they talked a little about their parallel earths? Clark might also expand his apartment when he married Lois?

Things were probably more to Clark's liking over in Gotham. Again, Bruce came home that night to the sound of Skrillex blaring through the house. Alfred, unflappable as ever, greeted him wearing a pair of earmuffs.

"What's going on?" Bruce nearly yelled over the noise.

"Masters Richard and Batson are having a little party," Alfred somehow made himself heard without shouting.

"Why didn't you stop them?"

"Because, Master Bruce, this old house has been too quiet for far too long." Alfred said this with such an air of authority that Bruce daren't object. Instead he quietly headed down to the Cave and continued to work on the teleporter before he started patrol.

Half an hour later Bruce looked up to see a bleached blond frat boy descending the stairs into the Cave. He had only started to form a contingency plan when the blond guy yanked at his hair and it came off in the form of a wig to reveal Batson's dark waves. "Relax, Bat Daddy," he said languidly, "You've taught me the art of disguise. I just wanted to party anonymously."

Bruce returned to his work. "Aren't you too young to drink?"

"Oh I'm not drunk, I'm just stoned."

Bruce frowned. His son was a spoiled, privileged brat. Not _his_ son, exactly, but apparently enough of his son to be able to read his barely perceptible change in expression. "I see you disapprove of my ways in this universe, too," said Batson, a little sadly, "But if your dad was the Dark Knight and your mom's side of the family was all in the mob you'd be a little messed up too."

(Ah, so this was young person's angst. Bruce had dealt with it by training in Japan every day until he was too exhausted to think while his son found answers in the shape of a bong.) Before he knew what was happening, some dormant fatherly instinct kicked in and compelled Bruce to list the negative effects of cannabis on the human body to set the kid straight; he had only finished explaining neurotransmitter abnormalities to a dazed-looking Batson when he was suddenly interrupted. "Perhaps we can be of assistance in your search for meaning," rang the unmistakable voice of –

"Ra's al Ghul?" The Demon's head materialized from one of the Cave's shadowy recesses, flanked by Ubu. Bruce sensed the beginning of his second migraine in as little as twenty four hours. Some version of him had raised a kid who derived existential benefit from something as trite as smoking marijuana, Ra's was alive and had brought along his gratingly one track-minded Ubu, and earlier that evening he had spent ten minutes listening to Kent's dejected sighs over the fact that 'CJ didn't want to bond with him' before he finally clicked off his comm. link in annoyance.

He'd rather be doing anything else, anywhere else. He'd rather be in a sewer fighting Croc. In fact, he'd rather call up Kent again and ask him to finish up his boring story. Instead, he had this to deal with. "I thought you were dead," Bruce accused. He and Clark had watched the old man fall to his doom after he had almost successfully harnessed Clark's powers.

"I have been alive for seven hundred years out of force of will and sheer wit, Detective," laughed Ra's, "Falling off of a cliff is certainly not a befitting way for me to die, wouldn't you agree?"

"I don't care," he replied flatly.

Ra's frowned but then returned his attention towards Batson as he continued to address Bruce. "Now I see that in my absence you have produced an heir without any of our knowledge. I had hoped that your progeny would be of my bloodline, but no matter. I shall claim the heir to your heir instead."

Batson and Batman exchanged glances, and then (to Batman's utter chagrin) Batson threw his head back and started cracking up. "Whoa! DUDE!" he managed to howl through his giggles, "You want me to sleep with your daughter? Well is she hot?"

Ra's, who was not accustomed to being addressed so glibly, responded unfazed, "Yes, I suppose so. She takes after me."

"WHAT? She looks like YOU?" Batson nearly-shouted, "Well count me in, brah," and he strolled towards Ra's as happy as you please.

"Batson," cried Bruce, "What are you doing? Get back here!"

Even Ra's was mildly puzzled, but he decided to go along with it. "I see that your son is not as sharp as you are, Detective," he sneered, "Unfortunate, but inconsequential. We only require his DNA to prove that the son he produces is also a Wayne." With that, Ra's welcomed Batson into his open embrace.

_Marijuana decreases libido, so what is the kid doing_? As soon as Bruce realized this, he smirked. As if he could read Bruce's mind, Batson lifted up Ra's and body-slammed him against the Cave wall. "Dad, get Ubu!" he cried.

Bruce was already there, bobbing and weaving in a fistfight with the much larger man. Ubu, who had learned from previous experience, kept snatching at the utility belt around his opponent's waist to remove his advantage, but not before Bruce managed to grab a handful of smoke pellets to hurl at him.

Then without warning the ground began to rumble; the earthquake grew quickly in magnitude until all of them were brought to their knees.

- But just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. Bruce took note and was the first to recover. He took this chance to throw a bola around Ubu's ankles then flew to Batson's side to take over the fight against Ra's. The two men sparred angrily – Ra's because he had been deceived, and Bruce because his son had been hurt.

No, NOT his son. But seeing the tall, slim young man struggling to regain footing with a look of determination that was a peculiar, mesmerizing combination of his and Andrea's expressions – well, it was doing something to Bruce's concentration. It was distracting him when he needed to be completely focused to protect Batson from Ra's. Ra's was noticing this and using it to his advantage.

Luckily, Bruce had an ace up his sleeve. He clicked on his comm. link to call Clark.

**Xx**

CJ settled down to crack open the next volume in Clark's Nietzsche collection after Clark was suddenly called away to an emergency. He had just taken a sip of Yoo-hoo when he heard the front door open. This time he was prepared, and quickly slipped on the Ray-Bans before Lois entered the room.

"Oh, hey CJ," she greeted offhandedly.

"Hi, Lois," he answered.

"Where's Clark?"

"He had to run out and put more money in the meter."

"I see," she gave a flicker of understanding, and then sized up CJ. "What were you doing? Reading? In dim lighting? With sunglasses on?"

"I hadn't started yet," countered CJ, "I was going to take my sunglasses off, obviously."

"Hmm, obviously," repeated Lois. "Well, don't let me stop you. Go ahead, take them off."

"You know, on second thought, I think I'll leave them on and talk to you instead."

"What a polite kid." Lois narrowed her eyes, then muttered to herself, "What is it with the Kents and glasses?"

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing. Nothing."

CJ's mother Lois was a tough-as-nails reporter as well, but at home she was _mom_; he had never been on the receiving end of one her investigations like he was right now. Well he'd show _this_ Lois; *his* parents were Lois Lane and Clark Kent, so he knew plenty about getting secrets out of people, and, more importantly, keeping them.

**Xx**

Once Superman arrived, the fight with Ra's and Ubu ended very quickly. Superman snatched up the two men and dropped them off (quite literally) in the middle of the Pyrenees, then returned to the Cave moments later. Bruce was meticulously tending to Batson's injuries. The sight tugged at Clark's heartstrings. If fatherhood had ever missed an opportunity, it was Bruce. The care and devotion he had in him was inexhaustible and if he directed it at a family instead of a thankless city like Gotham that family would flourish.

If Bruce noticed Clark watching him, he didn't react. "Kent, bring CJ," he said as he tied a bandage around Batson's head, "The four of us need to talk."

* * *

**Normally I love stories that follow canon, but I don't care if Ra's is technically dead during JL/JLU. For the purposes of this story, he's alive! Conflict between fathers/sons was a recurring theme in the original comics, but it was because the kids wanted to be superheroes, not because they partied too much or too little. ****Also, I WISH I had come up with the name "Bat Daddy," but credit for that goes to Bob Haney.**


	5. The Super switch

**Sorry for the late update! To make up for it, here's a nice, long chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 4: The Super switch

When Batson and CJ saw each other again, the first thing they did was to hug it out. Clark watched in astonishment and Bruce with mild interest.

"Batson, buddy," greeted CJ.

"CJ, baby," replied Batson.

Bruce and Clark exchanged glances. "Those are, um," Clark cleared his throat, "interesting nicknames."

"Sure," said Batson easily, "But they're still not as bad as the ones our Superman and Batman have for each other, though."

Bruce held up his hand. "Don't want to know."

"I kind of do," Clark mumbled (only half-joking).

They gathered at the dining table where Alfred had set out some snacks (he himself was busy putting the rest of the Manor in order following that night's brief earthquake). Bruce, seated between the Super Sons, was about to speak when Batson reached across him to snatch a brownie from CJ's plate; he was going to say something again when CJ stretched out in front of him to grab a fistful of Batson's macaroons in retaliation; he gave one last college try to get a word in when a donut flew towards him and landed squarely in his lap.

Bruce looked up to see Clark with his hand mid-throw and shot him the dirtiest look he could muster. Clark grinned sheepishly and slowly lowered his hand.

"We're nowhere close to finding a way to get you boys back," Bruce said sternly. This got their attention. "Mr. Terrific has too many other commitments to dedicate himself solely to this task and J'onn's knowledge of quantum physics is extensive but not good enough to do the job. That means that it is my responsibility to get you back home, but I can't do much unless I have more information about your universe and the specs of the teleporter you used over there."

"I can help you," CJ offered quietly.

"Good, I was counting on that. I'd like you to stay at the Manor while we work on a counter-teleporter."

"All right!" cheered Batson, and he and CJ exchanged high-fives inches from Bruce's face.

"Not just yet," interrupted Bruce. "Batson, Ra's al Ghul isn't going to give up so easily. He'll come looking for you again, and if I have to fight him off at his every attempt it's going to take up too much of our time. I want you to stay in Metropolis with Clark instead."

Batson shrugged. "Makes sense. It'll be like Thanksgiving break, only this time no Aunt Lois to cramp our style!" Clark received Batson's enthusiastic high five in a daze. He was too busy feeling touched that parallel-Bruce brought his family to the parallel-Kents' for Thanksgiving. In fact, he was beginning to wonder whether he should just hitch a ride with the kids to their dimension.

"Why does Ra's al Ghul want Batson?" CJ wondered aloud.

"He wants to make me his daughter's sex slave," answered Batson.

CJ looked at Bruce. "That happens to him more often than you'd think."

For a fleeting moment, Bruce gave a narrow smile, and then was back to his usual self. "All right, let's get to work."

"Actually, would you mind if Batson and I hang out for like half an hour more? We haven't seen each other in a while." Batson, polishing off his second brownie, nodded dazedly in agreement.

"Of course you can," said Clark before Bruce could respond; they left the younger men in the dining room and faced each other in the hall with their arms crossed. "Their parents must be worried," Clark thought out loud.

"Yes, but we have an even bigger problem."

"What do you mean?"

"Have there been any earthquakes in Metropolis in the last twenty four hours?"

"…A small one that barely registered on the Richter scale last night. Why?"

Bruce looked grim. "I think the boys are causing the earthquakes. Their molecules move at a different frequency than ours, which makes their physical forms wildly unstable."

Clark leaned against the wall. "But there must be some kind of trigger, or else wouldn't the earthquakes be more consistent?"

"Precisely. I think it's fear. The rush of adrenaline they get when they're afraid makes them even more unstable. They must have been afraid when they landed near the Fortress, and when Batson faced off against Ra's tonight he was scared again."

"And CJ must have had a nightmare which caused the one in Metropolis." Clark looked concerned. "Bruce, this means that they're walking reactors. Is it safe for them to even be in the same room?"

"Let's not wait and see. We have to keep them apart and send them back as soon as possible before they cause too much damage to their surroundings."

The sound of the kids' laughter sounded through the heavy wooden doors. Both men noticed it and Bruce added softly, "Or to themselves."

**Xx**

"You're not married either?" Batson exclaimed when Clark told him. He sat, legs folded, on the kitchen island while Clark made them tea. "What's taking you so long?"

Clark grew thoughtful as he unwrapped a teabag. "…I guess I'm afraid," he said finally.

"Of what? You're Superman, dude!"

"I don't know if Lois is comfortable with the fact that I'm Clark Kent," he confided (and then wondered why he was telling this to a twenty year-old mini-Bruce), "I know that she likes Superman, but I can't help but feeling that she was disappointed to find that Superman and Clark Kent are the same person."

"Uncle C, if it helps, in my universe Lois figured out that two were the same person a few months after meeting you and within a year you two were married! So the only one who's delaying anything is you." He accepted the cup of tea that Clark offered him. "And don't forget that you guys have to have a Clark Jr. How did your Lois react to CJ?"

"I told her that he was my cousin."

Batson spit out half of his tea and simultaneously choked on the other half; he was in such a state of laughing/coughing so that Clark had to intervene with a gentle pat on his back to make everything flow in one direction. Batson concluded with a small chuckle. "Sorry, sorry. Look, you were trying to protect both of them so I get it. Aunt Lois always says that you may not beat her as a reporter, but you sure do beat her as a parent."

"She does?" Clark's smile grew dreamy.

"All the time, at least when she's hanging out with my mom." He squeezed some honey into his cup. "What's the deal with your Bruce, by the way? Is he dating my mom?"

Clark considered for a moment. "Actually, Batson, I'm not sure who your mom is. Bruce has had kind of a colorful love life in the time that I've known him."

"Ah, he takes after me," he quipped. "Well, has he ever dated an Andrea Beaumont?"

"Not that I know of," Clark replied. The name didn't sound familiar.

"He met her when they were in college. I guess you didn't know him back then." He slid off of the counter. "This calls for an internet search."

"Batson, I don't know if that's such a good idea," Clark warned him gently, "What if you find out something about her that's going to affect how you see her in your own universe?"

"Relax, Uncle C. I already know that my grandfather used to be in the mob."

Clark blinked twice. Who was this Andrea Beaumont? He knew that Bruce had a weakness for morally ambiguous women – Selina and Talia, for example (although their morals weren't _that_ ambiguous in Clark's opinion). Wordlessly, he followed Batson into the living room and watched as he flipped open the laptop and typed his mother's name into the search engine.

"Here's their engagement announcement in the _Gotham Gazette_," Batson read aloud, "So far, so good." Clark looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, there was a picture of the much younger Bruce – around Batson's age – with his arms around a smiling, red-haired woman.

Bruce was engaged once (to someone other than Lois)? Clark felt a little woozy. Why on earth – this earth – weren't they married, then? He shook himself out his reverie when Batson spoke again. "Obituary pages?"

Clark's heart dropped. "Batson—"

"…She's dead?"

The ground began to rumble.

Clark was kneeling in front of Batson at once. He gently took the laptop from him, set it aside, and squeezed the boy's hands which were lying listlessly at his sides. "Batson, look at me," he said gently.

The quaking grew stronger; his books spilled out of the bookcase onto the floor, and the teacups they had been drinking from just moments ago fell with a crash. Clark knew that he had to calm down the younger man or else the earthquake would grow out of control. "Batson, _your_ mother is still alive. The Andrea Beaumont in this universe was never your mother. You're going to go home soon, where your parents are both breathing and married to each other."

Slowly, the ground became steadier. Batson looked up at Clark with heavy eyes, looking exactly like the version of Bruce that Clark hated to see – the sad, burdened Bruce. "…My mom is alive, right?"

"_Yes_. You're in a parallel dimension right now. You and CJ will be back at home soon."

The earth stopped shaking. Batson ran his hands through his hair and shook his head. "…Thanks, Clark," he said finally. He looked around the room and noticed that its contents were strewn all over the floor. "Whoa, what just happened?"

"A minor earthquake," explained Clark quickly, "You probably didn't notice, you were dealing with some pretty scary news."

"Yeah," Batson agreed with his brow furrowed. He stood up quickly to help Clark return everything to its proper place in the room.

And then the doorknob turned.

With everything that had been going on, he had completely forgotten about Lois and her no-knocking policy! He only had time to mouth "Lois" to Batson before she was in the room, "Clark, did you notice that earthquake? I think it—wait, who's this?"

"This… this…" Clark looked about the room wildly and from the corner of his eye caught his DVD of _The Time Traveller's Wife _strewn on the ground. He suddenly had an idea so crazy that it just might work. "This is Bruce Wayne!"

"What? Is this some kind of joke?"

"No! This *is* Bruce Wayne, from the past. He time-travelled here."

Without missing a beat, Batson slid towards Lois and kissed her hand. "Lois Lane, I presume. Clark has been talking about you all night. Clark, does Lois know my *secret*?" he asked loudly with a pointed glance at the hapless Clark, who nodded effusively. Batson returned his attention to Lois. "Well then Lois, since you know that I'm Batman, I think it's safe to tell you that I'm from the past, and I ended up here…in the future."

Lois narrowed her eyes. "Yes, so you said." She drew her hand away and considered him. "You certainly look like Bruce… How do you know Clark? I was there when you two met for the first time."

"Yes, I haven't met him in my present yet either, I only met him for the first time tonight. The future Bruce thinks that the less I know about my future self, the better, so I'm here with my future self's current friend Clark until my time-traveling machine is fixed."

"Uh-huh…" Lois wasn't convinced. Clark wanted to bite his fingernails as he watched this exchange, transfixed. Where CJ's lying was clippy and awkward, Batson's was smooth and self-assured… but Lois was _Lois Lane_ for a reason. She glanced about the room and asked, "Where's CJ?"

"He went back to Kansas," said Clark.

She frowned and returned her attention to Batson. "Right. Okay, _Bruce_," Lois pressed, "If you are in fact who you say you are, tell me: how did you get the heart-shaped scar on your inner thigh?"

"Now hold on, Lois!" Clark jumped up (flustered, embarrassed, jealous, and protective all at once) at the same time that Batson demanded, "How do you know about what's on my inner thigh?" _He_ certainly didn't know; it wasn't exactly the kind of thing that came up during father-son bonding time.

"I know because Bruce Wayne and I were engaged," stated Lois as she crossed her arms with a glare.

Batson looked like someone had knocked the wind out of him. He fell onto the sofa behind him and brought his hands to his mouth. "Bruce Wayne was engaged to Lois," he mumbled, and then dropped his hands and looked at Clark. "Bruce Wayne was ENGAGED to *Lois*?"

Clark got ready for round two of damage control. To be honest, he was a little miffed at Lois. He thought it was understood between them that they were to never – NEVER – bring up the fact that she had been engaged to his best friend. Sure, there was nothing between them anymore, but it still stung Clark a little that Bruce had gotten further with Lois than he ever had. He took her by the shoulders and guided her to the door. "This is exactly why Bruce didn't want him in the Manor, Lois," he hissed, "He didn't want him to find out about his future."

She wrestled out of his grip and turned to face him. "Say what you want, _Clark_, but something strange has been going on for the past two days. You're completely off, you're bringing strange young men into the apartment—"

"_Lois!_" Clark was mortified.

"—And one of them is your 'human' cousin who looks EXACTLY LIKE YOU. What are you trying to pull here? Are you and Bruce creating an army of clones?"

"No! It's not that! I can't tell you, exactly."

"Clark, I trust your judgment so I promised not to interfere in your life as Superman. But we decided that on the condition that we weren't going to have any secrets from each other anymore and right now you're clearly lying to me. Well? What do you have to say for yourself?"

He sighed heavily. "Lois, I wish I could explain…"

"Fine." She glowered at him. "Then don't bother calling me until you can." She swept out of the door and slammed it behind her.

Poor Clark knew that he had very little time to nurse his hurt because Batson was still reeling from the news that in a parallel universe his dad and his dad's best friend's wife were once engaged. But Clark's expression was so forlorn and dejected that Batson jumped to his aid instead.

"Uncle C, forgiving your best friend for macking on the love of your life is by far the classiest thing I have ever heard," praised Batson with a sturdy pat, "There's a reason you're called 'Superman.'"

"I hate lying to her, but I have to protect her. I can't scare her away with the truth." Poor Clark buried his face in his hands.

"Well then listen up!" he declared, "You've helped raise me. You've done all the things that a father should do but my dad doesn't because he doesn't know any better – you took me suit shopping for my first date, you've taken me out for ice cream after breakups, you've given me pep talks before every baseball game – and now it's my turn to help you."

Clark looked up in wonder. Batson had Bruce's ability to command attention but without all of the doom and gloom that inevitably followed. Through the haze of his sadness burst forth a little shot of affection for his best friend… and even for Batson.

Batson saw that he had Clark's full attention and grinned. "We are going to win back Aunt Lois."

* * *

**Two things I borrowed from the actual Super Sons issues in this chapter: 1) "Bruce buddy" and "Clark baby" is actually how the two sons addressed each other (*squee*!), and 2) in the very last issue of the Super sons something spoilery happens but basically the boys are causing earthquakes - I made up the reason why in this story.**


	6. Super nerds

Chapter 5: Super nerds

With CJ's help, progress on the teleporter was moving along quickly. And strangely enough, Bruce even found himself enjoying the process. At the moment, CJ was peering at a monitor as he twisted a knob to change vibratory frequencies; his expression was the same one that Clark got when squinting for nanites or deciding who to vote for on American Idol.

"You think this amplitude will work?" asked CJ, brushing away the requisite Clark Kent-curl from his forehead.

"Looks good," Bruce approved, "Your handle on quantum mechanics is unheard of in a high schooler."

"Thank you." The weight of this compliment wasn't lost on CJ. He peered up at Bruce and hesitated before he asked, "Hey, what happens when electrons lose their energy?"

Bruce was in the process of recalling his knowledge of atomic theory when CJ gleefully answered it himself: "They get Bohr'd!" He shrugged with a grin. "Yeah, you didn't laugh at that one in my universe either."

Well, Bruce thought, CJ *was* in high school. They worked silently for a moment before Bruce spoke, "How do you know you're dealing with the quantum physics mafia?"

CJ raised his brow.

"You wake up with a horse in your bed that's both dead and alive."

CJ snorted and cupped his hand over his mouth much in the same way that Lois did, and Bruce felt another tug of affection for the kid. It was strange, but Bruce had liked CJ from the moment they met. He was quiet, brooding, and intelligent, and just as well-meaning as Clark. It was clear that Lois and Clark had raised him but Bruce even sensed his own hand in the process. And unlike Batson, CJ seemed to _want_ to listen to him.

"I think we can probably finish before you and Aunt Andrea head to patrol tonight," CJ commented.

This time, Bruce was prepared for the mention of her name. "Andrea and I aren't married."

"Really? That must make Batwoman's patrol a logistic challenge."

Well, he wasn't prepared for _this_. Being constantly reminded of Andrea while around Batson hadn't been easy, but this was a whole different kind of difficult. Years of practice had taught him not to betray his inner regret and instead he intoned, "There is no Batwoman in this universe."

CJ looked genuinely confused. "…Sorry," he amended quickly, "In my universe, Batman and Batwoman started together. It never occurred to me that they could exist alone."

So there was no Phantasm in CJ's world. Instead of abandoning his plans to become Batman, twenty year-old Bruce had shared his plans with Andy; not only had she encouraged him to follow through, but she had joined him in his fight. And then they had a son of their own and had raised Dick and Tim as they found them.

This was why he hated alternate universes.

Thankfully, CJ deduced that this wasn't a topic that Bruce wanted to discuss and immediately felt embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I'm not supposed to discuss my universe with you. It won't happen again."

"Don't worry about it," Bruce grumbled, "Parallel earths aren't easy for anyone."

CJ nodded, and the two worked quietly but comfortably for another hour before they stepped back to inspect their transporter. It was a cylindrical metal casing attached to the transporter pad; the casting was long enough to fit a person and programmed to vibrate to a frequency that could withstand the energy required to jump from one dimension to another.

CJ broke the silence. "Should we take it for a test run?"

"Let's," agreed Bruce. CJ set a mannequin onto the transporter pad, shut the door to the casing, and stepped back. With a nod, Bruce pressed a series of buttons before he pressed down on the conspicuous red one to active the transporter. Then,

SNAP! CLINK! EXPLOSION!

Instead of the beam of blue light that was expected to peacefully transport the mannequin to a parallel dimension, there was the sound of an explosion. The casing burst open and revealed a flood of blindingly blue light. Bruce grabbed CJ and threw himself over the boy to protect him from the blast.

When there was only the sound of sizzling left, Bruce stood up. "Are you all right?" he demanded of CJ.

CJ shook his head dazedly. "I'm fine." They both looked over to the transporter pad. While the majority of the casing was intact, its door was blown away; inside the left half of the mannequin remained, while the other half was gone. Oh, and the remaining half was on fire.

Bruce grabbed a fire extinguisher and got to work on putting out the flames, while CJ scrambled up to retrieve the door from the other end of the cave. "It's not dented," he reported, "but I guess the hinges got blown off during the teleportation. The tube needs to be kept sealed to transport our _entire_ bodies."

"Green Lantern could help with that but he's off-world," said Bruce. "We could try holding the door close, but it would require someone with meta-level strength." He studied CJ, who seemed to wield the heavy metal casing with relative ease. "Have you inherited any of Clark's Kryptonian powers?"

"Yeah, some of them, at half strength." Bruce couldn't ignore the disgusted face that CJ made at this.

"Let's take a break," Bruce suggested, "We're nearly done and you look beat." (Had any of the Batclan heard Bruce at this moment they would have fallen over in disbelief at the fact that Batman was suggesting that someone take a break. But Bruce felt *protective* of CJ in a strange way… almost as if he wanted to indulge the boy a little. It was almost the way he treated Clark, but he immediately repressed this thought with a scowl).

The two sat in another corner of the Cave to a pitcher of Alfred's raspberry lemonade and a bowl of pretzels. "Having those powers at half-strength must be frustrating," Bruce mentioned casually as a way to investigating his young charge's look of contempt at the subject from before.

"Having them at _all_ is frustrating," muttered CJ with a frown.

"Really?" Bruce was actually surprised. "That's not how I would feel. If I were Superman's son, I'd be glad that I could carry on his legacy. The world will always need a Superman."

"It's not _his_ legacy I want to carry on," CJ sighed, a perfect little picture of teenage angst. "The world isn't going to get a Superman, not in me at least. I can't fly, I can only lift some stuff at half his strength. I don't have his…" CJ sighed again and viciously stuck his hand into the bowl of pretzels.

"…His charisma?" Bruce finished for him.

CJ gave a short laugh without looking up from the bowl. "Yeah, exactly. No matter how much my dad wishes that I had a magnetic personality, I just don't. I don't know how. And I can tell it disappoints him. He never says anything, but even _your_ Clark was upset that I didn't throw a party and act all _popular_ and _winning_" (he spat these words) "while he was at work today."

Bruce silently groaned at the memory of Batson doing the very same before Ra's had shown up. But he also felt *empathy* for poor little CJ. He was a broody kid and if anyone could relate it was the man who eventually became Batman. "From what I know of Clark, he didn't know about his alien heritage until he was around your age. Ever since then, all he has ever craved is normalcy. To him that means the things that he used to do in Smallville. It's understandable that he wants to have that for his children as well."

"I know. _My_ Uncle Bruce has already tried to explain it to me that way. But that doesn't change the fact that it *sucks* disappointing your dad."

"I know the feeling," said Bruce softly.

CJ finally met Bruce's gaze and gave a lopsided smile. "…Of course. Sorry. Sorry I unloaded on you."

"It's not a problem." Bruce poured himself another glass of lemonade and leaned back. "So what do you do when you're not disappointing Superman?" he asked with a smirk.

"Well, I spent most of this year applying to college and I just got into Gotham U. I want to do engineering. Or physics. Or maybe both! I don't know."

"Gotham U? With your skills I could see you excelling even at a place like Caltech or MIT."

CJ blushed. "I got into both, but my parents couldn't afford either."

"Why didn't Bruce Wayne step in?" Bruce queried.

The younger man tossed a pretzel in the air and caught it in his mouth. "He offered, but my parents thought you—he—was being too generous. It really doesn't matter. You went to Gotham U and you turned out just fine. And Batson will be a junior there when I start, so no complaints here. Plus, it'll make being Robin much easier."

Bruce set down his lemonade in astonishment and CJ's hands flew to his mouth. "Oh man," he moaned, his voice muffled, "Ohmanohmanohman. I warned Batson not to blurt out everything, but I'm worse! Seriously, just staple my mouth shut."

"I guess you and Uncle Batman are closer than I thought," was all Bruce could think to say.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Don't tell my dad! Well, you can't tell him, but don't tell your Clark either!"

"You're _secretly_ Robin?"

"Yes. It was Uncle Bruce's idea and… um, I should just call it a night, huh?"

Bruce agreed quickly. "It's probably for the best. I'll call Kent in the morning to help us hold the teleporter casing together for one last test run. Hopefully you and Batson will be back to your earth by tomorrow before either of us learns too much about the other. Alfred is upstairs; he'll show you to your room."

CJ walked up the stairs, muttering to himself, and Bruce turned his attention to that night's patrol. He couldn't help but wonder what it would like to have CJ suit up and come out with him. The prospect wasn't unpleasant; he was sure that the poor kid's tongue wasn't usually that loose. He then wondered what it would be like to have Batson patrol with him. That one would probably be too high to tell his left from right.

But the same thought kept nagging at him: why had his counterpart allowed CJ to become Robin while refusing to let Batson do the same? Especially considering that Batson's parents were Batman and Batwoman… it seemed strange. Could it have been that he was trying to compensate for his mistakes with Batson through CJ? Or was he, like Clark, determined that his progeny should have a normal life at all costs?

**Xx**

The next morning being Saturday, Bruce awoke at around ten o'clock after putting in three hours of sleep. He contacted Clark over his comm. link while he was still under the covers to come over and help with the teleporter, then got dressed and made his way downstairs to the kitchen to see what Alfred and CJ were up to. Alfred met him halfway at the steps instead.

"Master Bruce, you have a visitor," announced the faithful butler.

"Is it Clark, Alfred?"

"Not quite, sir," responded Alfred, "I'm afraid it's Miss Lois Lane."

"Of course it is," muttered Bruce, "because so far all of this has been too easy." Alfred looked sympathetic and Bruce sighed. "Show her in, Alfred, but keep her away from CJ."

"Very good, Master Bruce."

A few minutes later, Bruce walked into the living room and saw her; something inside of him twitched. He and Lois and hardly seen each other after they broke off their brief engagement years ago and these rare meetings were never in Gotham. There were no romantic feelings between them anymore, but out of respect for Clark they had established a silent pact to not stay in touch. Yet despite all of that, Bruce felt something in him shift (was it in fear?), because Lois Lane was a veritable force of nature.

That force of nature was currently leaning forward with her chin resting on her hands when Bruce cleared his throat. She broke out of her reverie and grinned up at him. "Bruce."

"Lois," he greeted as he leaned forward to kiss her cheek, "What a pleasant surprise." He sat across from her and waited for her to speak. Thankfully there was no need to play Brucie with Lois.

"Are you almost done with that time machine?" she asked.

"Almost," he agreed smoothly, while having no idea what she meant (one of Kent's awkward cover stories, most likely).

She looked around and started wringing her hands. "I'm here because… well… I was wondering if you've noticed anything strange about Clark lately."

"What do you mean?"

"He's been acting more secretive than usual and just—" The sound of a loud crash caused them both to look towards the door where an unsuspecting CJ (who Alfred had not managed to find in time) had just knocked over a vase. CJ gaped at Lois when he saw that it was *her* with Bruce, and, without hesitating, he ran in the other direction, not even bothering to try to explain his presence in Wayne Manor.

Lois looked from CJ to Bruce and to his utter surprise she burst into tears. "Oh god, Bruce!" she sobbed, "So you're helping him! I thought it wasn't true, but now it must be! CJ is Clark's son!"

"Um…" How in the world did Lois figure it out?

"I knew the minute I saw him, but I didn't want to believe it! He's so upstanding and good! He's so damn _moral_, or so I THOUGHT!" She snatched a cushion next to her and buried her face in it.

Bruce's face softened. "Lois," he said, "_Your_ Clark doesn't have a son."

"Well he's not _my_ Clark anymore, is he?" cried Lois as she tossed the cushion aside, unwilling to be consoled, "I swear to god, Bruce, if CJ's mother is Lana Lang I'm going to shove a piece of kryptonite up his—"

Bruce hid a smile and took a seat next to her. "Hey, Lois," he said gently as he put a hand on her back, "You've got nothing to worry about, trust me. Clark is going to come clean soon."

"So it's not Lana?" she asked through sniffles.

"No," Bruce confirmed. She looked straight at him and they exchanged the tiniest of smiles.

Unfortunately, Superman himself chose that moment to appear in the room. One look at Bruce and Lois nestled comfortably in each other's arms beaming away at each other and his worst nightmare became reality (in real reality, Bruce and Lois were actually seated at a respectable distance from each other and Bruce had only been patting Lois shoulder, but Clark's jealousy clouded all of his judgment). Lois and Bruce only saw the look of utter _hurt_ all over Clark's face before he disappeared in a blur of red and blue.

The two left in the room groaned. Lois was the first to speak. "Dammit!"

Bruce touched his hand to his ear. "J'onn, can you give me Superman's location?"

J'onn's voice crackled to life in his ear. "I'm sorry, Batman, but Superman has switched off his comm. link."

Of course he had. He stood up. "Clark's off the grid," he frowned. "I'm going to go after him."

Lois flopped back onto the couch. "That means he's in Smallville."

"I thought so too."

She peered him. "Of course you did. You're his work wife."

Bruce only shrugged at the truth. He supposed that it was an accurate description of their working relationship.

"…Bruce? Bring him back. Tell him I love him. I'll even accept his bastard child."

Bruce looked back from the door. "I'll make sure that you get to tell him yourself."

* * *

**I feel bad for doing this to Clark, but not TOO bad because the next chapter is full of Bruce/Clark bonding fluff *sigh* AND Wonder Woman finally makes her debut in this story. Stay tuned!**


	7. The Commander

**For some reason, I had a really tough time getting through this chapter. It just didn't want to be written! I tried a couple of different directions and this is the end result - not because I'm happy with it but because I want to move on, so excuse any wobbly bits you might find. With that in mind, enjoy, and hello to my new readers!**

Chapter 6: The Commander

Clark sat hunched over on the stoop of his parents' house, scratching at the dirt by his feet with a stray branch that he had found nearby. His parents weren't home and he couldn't call them to ask where they were because he had forgotten to charge his cell phone that morning. (Maybe he _wanted_ to be alone because if he had _tried_ to find them he would have heard them only a few miles away at the Ross's.) So here he was.

He was hurt. Lois had been angry with him and had turned to her ex-fiancé – his best friend – for comfort. And for some reason, Bruce was a little too easy with the smiles when it came to her… No! It was too overwhelming to think about! Even his cape sagged in dejection as it hung limply against him.

He barely looked up when he sensed Bruce approaching. Not even when Bruce took a seat next to him on the stoop. Well, Clark resolved that he wasn't going to be the first to say anything. Unfortunately, he then remembered that Bruce was the reigning world champion of that little game, so grudgingly he spoke. "So," he began (in a voice that he hoped was nonchalant), "are you and Lois still in love?"

His friend glanced sideways at him when he noticed the tremble in his voice and sighed. "…Clark," said Bruce resignedly, "don't be a doofus."

"I am not a doofus! I know all about the heart-shaped scar on your inner thigh." Clark grit his teeth as he viciously scratched the dirt at his feet.

Bruce's quirked an eyebrow at this. "And you're bringing this up because…"

"Because Lois can't stop talking about it! Well… she mentioned it to Batson once. But I heard it too and now it's all I can think about!"

"Kent, if you want to see my inner thigh so badly all you have to do is ask."

Clark snapped the branch in his hands and finally met his friend's eye. "It's not funny, Bruce!"

Now Bruce frowned. "You're right, it's not. Lois and I were engaged—"

"Spare me the gory details!" Clark cried.

"—_ten years _ago," Bruce continued sternly. "When she found out that I was Batman I had to teach her a series of security questions for her own safety."

"That's a weird security question," Clark huffed, "FYI, most people would use their mother's maiden name."

Bruce hid a smirk as it dawned on him what was actually going on. He fell in love often; soon after ending things with Lois he had found Kathy Duquesne, which had been unexpected and rather nice while it lasted – then he saw Diana toppling the Imperium and hadn't stopped thinking about her since – all the while he was also juggling Selina and Talia and Zatanna and avoiding Barbara, and well… Lois had been long forgotten amid all of this activity. And while Clark may or may not have talked things out with Lois, he hadn't gotten closure with _Bruce_ regarding their little fling. _And_ unfortunately, Clark needed to talk things out to process them.

He decided to get it over with now. "What else you got?"

Clark gaped at him.

"We've never talked about what happened between Lois and me. It clearly still upsets you. What else do you have to say about it?"

This was invitation enough for Clark, who was realizing that pretending for all those years that his best friend and his girlfriend had never dated was probably unhealthy. It was almost eager the way he shouted, "You want to talk it out? Fine! You shouldn't have done it! You knew that Lois liked Superman! That's why you used her in the first place, to get to Superman."

"That is why I struck up a conversation with her, but when I talked to her, I _liked_ her. She's a phenomenal woman. And she was single at the time. I jumped at the chance."

"But she liked _me_!"

"And yet you did nothing about it. At the rate you're going, I doubt if you ever will. What are you waiting for, Clark? Just because it didn't work out with me doesn't mean that she can't make it work with someone else who's not you."

At this, the anger that had been buoying Clark up until now suddenly seemed to vanish. His voice fell. "What if that's better for her?" He hung his head. There. He had admitted his greatest fear.

Bruce sensed this. "Maybe you should ask Lois what she thinks."

"…maybe I'm too afraid that she actually does feel that way."

Had they been discussing anyone else's relationship, Bruce would have already deemed the topic too frivolous and swept away. But he knew how important Superman was to the world. And he knew how important Lois was to Superman. So it was with genuine concern that he decided to smooth things over. "She figured out that CJ is your son, you know. She was seeing green because she thinks that Lana Lang is his mother."

A chuckle escaped Clark, then he blushed. "…She was jealous?"

"Let's just say that Lois isn't the one who's stopping you two from riding off into the sunset."

Clark finally looked up and smiled at Bruce; the latter felt relieved. "I'm sorry for acting like this," Clark apologized.

His friend shrugged. "Love can make a person do stupid things."

"Yeah…" He made no motion to get up, deep in thought as he was. "…Bruce, who was Andrea Beaumont?"

Now it was Bruce's turn to grow thoughtful, but when he spoke, it was brief and impassive. As always. "I met Andy in college. She died a few years later fighting the Joker."

But Clark knew Bruce well enough to deduce that he had met Andrea before he became the Batman and that she died afterwards despite his being the Batman. "I'm so sorry, Bruce." The words seemed to fall flat. "Having Batson around must bring back some painful memories."

"You know me, Clark. I never forget."

Clark made a face. His heart ached for Bruce. Cold, calculating, paranoid Bruce became that way for a reason, after all. "I hate alternate universes!" he said a little vehemently. This sudden burst of emotion left Bruce looking entertained, so Clark grinned. "Let's get everything vibrating back to _our_ universe's frequency."

They stood up in unison, two armored titans who somehow managed to look completely at home on Ma Kent's cozy front porch. "Let's."

**Xx**

They had a visitor in the Cave. Clark sped towards her when he saw who it was, but Bruce wasn't so enthusiastic. He remembered quite vividly that when he had first seen Batson's face a few days ago, he had been searching for a particular set of features mixed with his own (and he had then forced himself to ignore this inconvenient impulse). To see the owner of those features giving his Clark a hug in his Cave as CJ looked on was a little bizarre, to say the least.

Wonder Woman then turned her attention to him. "Quite a secret you two have been hiding," she remarked with a twinkle in her eye.

He would *not* let down his guard. Instead he demanded brusquely, "Why are you here?"

"Clark Jr. contacted me to ask for help," she answered, unfazed, "Naturally I didn't believe him so I came down here to investigate if there was an intruder in the Cave."

Unable to stay quiet any longer, CJ jumped in excitedly, "I got interrogated by the Lasso of Truth! It was awesome."

Bruce and Clark gave CJ quizzical looks but Diana grinned at him. "How wondrous – a teenage boy who does not shy from the truth!"

"CJ can't seem to stop telling the truth," muttered Bruce, and then turned to the young man in question. "What have you and Diana managed to accomplish?"

CJ too was unperturbed by Bruce's gruffness; while he animatedly described their progress in Bruce and Clark's half hour-long absence, Diana turned to Clark. "You named your son Clark Jr.," she commented. Clark shifted uncomfortably to hide his embarrassment and she added, "I would have expected a name like 'Krypto' from you."

"Why does everyone have something against that name?" he protested, "Krypto is a _fine_ name!"

"It is a fine name… for a poodle."

Well Krypto wasn't a poodle, as far as Clark was aware. Come to think of it, Clark didn't actually know what breed he was… for all he knew Krypto _was_ a Kryptonian poodle. But before he could defend his pet Diana excused herself to take a call from the Themysciran Embassy so he joined Bruce and CJ a few feet away.

"What made you call Wonder Woman?" Batman was asking CJ.

"I couldn't locate Superman in the Batcomputer communications system, so I looked up who had access to the teleporter coordinates of the Cave. The list was pretty small and the only person on there with enough strength to hold our teleporter casing together was Wonder Woman, so I decided to take a risk."

"A risk?" queried Clark.

"Yeah, kind of. I wasn't sure if this was enough of an emergency to get the Commander involved."

"The Commander?"

"Of the Justice League?" CJ prompted, "Wonder Woman?"

Clark's eyes widened. "Oh, ho!" he whistled, "Well this is an interesting development, Batman."

"Indeed it is, Superman," Bruce agreed. They exchanged amused looks.

CJ braced himself for another mistake. "Oh, sorry. Is she not the Commander of your universe's League?"

"Our League doesn't have a Commander," said Batman shortly – although thankfully they had an unofficial one in Superman.

"But don't give Diana that idea!" added Clark jovially; since day one, Batman had been their leader as far as Clark was concerned, whether or not he was part-time.

Diana joined them just then. "Give me what idea? About being the Commander of the Justice League?"

CJ shrugged when Bruce and Clark both shot him a look. "We already established that I can't keep a secret when I'm excited," he reminded them gently.

Diana laughed and put a hand on CJ's shoulder, which prompted CJ to blush furiously. Diana didn't notice, but the other two did. "Bruce," she continued easily, "The sooner you give the approval to CJ's modifications to the teleporter, the sooner he can go back home to his mother."

Bruce said nothing, but busied himself with going over the settings. It was quite a contrast from the easy working relationship he had found with CJ. With CJ his paranoia had seemed silly. With Clark and Diana (who, by the way, were his two closest friends – 'closest' being open to interpretation) it seemed necessary.

…Why had he stiffened up when Diana mentioned the word 'mother'? Yes, he had been attracted to her since the day they met, but years later, when she finally started to reciprocate those feelings, he pushed her away… repeatedly. It had been a long time since she had ceased all such overtures and thankfully they were still friends, but why did their current arrangement bother him?

"Looks good," he pronounced roughly and stepped back. "Let's test it one last time."

CJ grabbed another mannequin – on whose face he had scribbled a pair of glasses and a curl and the letters "C.J." (in case it wasn't already clear enough who it was meant to represent) – and placed it into the teleporter tube. Wonder Woman looped her lasso around the casing and pulled it firmly as Bruce entered the teleportation sequence into the console.

A beam of blue light – the sound of billions of atoms scrambling to realign themselves – then, nothing. Diana loosened the lasso and CJ bounded forward to check the inside of the tube.

"It worked!" he exclaimed. The adults came forward to survey it as well.

"Good," said Bruce, "Let's get Batson over here and send you two home."

Diana stole a glance at Clark then peered at Bruce. "_Batson?_" she repeated. Broke into a grin. Even Clark covered his mouth with his hand.

Bruce wished that he hadn't pulled down his cowl upon entering the Cave. He looked at CJ. "And _this_ you neglected to mention?" CJ shrugged playfully.

"I take back what I said about Krypto," Diana said to Clark.

"Apology accepted," said Clark to Diana.

Bruce growled at them all.

**Xx**

Ten minutes after Clark left to get Batson, he returned to the Cave, wild-eyed. Batson wasn't in the apartment in Metropolis. In fact, Batson was nowhere to be found in all of Metropolis. This caused CJ to set off a minor earthquake.

Bruce put a firm but reassuring hand on CJ's shoulder. "Ra's al Ghul."

"He was alone for half an hour, Uncle Bruce! How is that possible?"

"It is," replied Superman, "Ra's keeps an eye on all of us, especially when he wants something." He still looked worried. He was definitely not a fan of Ra's.

"How will we find him?" Diana demanded.

Before Bruce could respond, CJ jumped away from him and to the main console (Bruce arched an eyebrow but let him take the lead). "We could scan Ra's's known bases of operations but we know that he cycles through them too often for it to be efficient," CJ explained as he started typing furiously, "Instead, we should look for centers of increased seismic activity and correlate those to the known bases."

"Agreed," Bruce agreed, feeling… proud? _There's no need to get too attached_, he told himself, _the kid is leaving in a few hours_.

"Seismic activity?" asked Diana.

"Our molecules are vibrating at a different frequency from those in your universe, so it's possible that we're causing vibratory dissonance here."

Bruce looked at Clark. _He's smart_, he communicated through a look as he nodded at CJ.

_We need to find Batson, all I care about right now is Batson_, was Clark's silent response. In the few hours they had spent together, Clark had grown heartwrenchingly fond of Batson. Clark knew perfectly well that his affection for the younger man was simply transference of his emotions towards Bruce, but intellectualizing it didn't change the fact that he would do anything for Batson, just as he would for Bruce.

Sure enough, CJ's plan of action yielded one location on the map: the Lazarus pit beneath Stonehenge.

* * *

**Well, we're off to England! TEAM USA!**


	8. A Super rescue

**Here is the LONGEST chapter yet to make up for my month-long absence!**

Chapter 7: A Super rescue

Perhaps she took news of her position as Commander in an alternate universe too much to heart or perhaps they were noticing it just now, but Wonder Woman seamlessly took charge of the situation once they knew where they had to go to find Batson. She grabbed a sword from Batman's armory, directed them all into the Javelin, and was now flying them towards England at breakneck speed.

When they landed an hour later, Bruce and CJ leapt out in unison and began to energetically and systematically check each large slab that surrounded the circular clearing making up Stonehenge. Clark and Diana, trailing them, exchanged amused looks. Clark then used his x-ray vision to scan the area underground. "Ra's's hideout is right below us," he described to Diana, "It's a circular cavern about eighty yards in diameter. Ra's is standing about ten yards diagonal to us. Batson is tied to a bedpost in a separate room about thirty yards to the left."

Diana nodded thoughtfully. "What about his security detail?"

Clark took another look. "About twenty five of them on the main deck."

"I think we can handle it." She glanced over at the other two who were still furiously pushing and prodding at the massive stoneworks. "Batman," she called out.

"Not now, Diana!" he replied dismissively, "We're figuring out how to enter Ra's's hideout!"

Diana was about to speak again when Clark laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I'll handle this," he said cheerily. Without missing a beat, he spun fast enough to drill a hole into the ground straight from the surface into the middle of Ra's's lair. He got a glimpse of Bruce scowling wonderfully and chuckled to himself.

Ra's, meanwhile, looked quite surprised at the visitors who had dropped in so soon, especially at Clark (who, being no fan of Ra's, decided to drop in directly _on_ him and pin him down under a pile of rubble). His assassins reacted immediately, but Diana leapt down just then and took out two of them at once. A slew of batarangs followed her lead and took out two more.

Clark felt something shift under him, so he pressed down harder. Ra's grunted, but continued his self-satisfied leering. "This game of cat and mouse we play is quite dependable, don't you think, Mr. Kent?"

Mr. Kent responded by looking irritated. Honestly, if he squinted and imagined him with a newsboy cap, a cane, and standing hunched over, Ra's could make a very nice old man – the kind that Clark would go out of his way to help cross the street, even. It annoyed him that he was like *this* instead! "I don't know why _you_ find it so comforting," frowned Clark, "As usual, we found you way too easily."

"Oh my!" Ra's began to chuckle. "I believe that you have confused your position in the analogy. You see, I have been chasing you, and as always, you have been lured into a trap."

Clark barely had time to register this before he felt a wave of nausea well up from the pit of his stomach. He broke out into a cold sweat, every pore in his body crying out in agony. Kryptonite!

Bruce heard a frustrated cry come from behind him. He kicked off the assassin who had just leapt onto him and spun around to see Clark doubled up on the ground and Ra's dusting himself off nearby. He followed his line of site and saw a glowing green rock brandished in the hands of… Bane!

This was… unexpected. Bruce felt his anger mounting. "We got rid of all of your kryptonite when we got rid of you," he snarled at Ra's.

"Well clearly we _didn't_ get rid of him!" snapped Superman before Ra's could respond. The alarm bells went off in Bruce's mind. Clark almost never grew irritated with him.

Then several things in rapid succession: Bane tossed the kryptonite to Ra's, Batman whipped several batarangs at Bane which bounced off of the bigger man, and then two League of Shadows assassins came hurtling in the air from behind Batman and smashed into Bane. Bane stumbled and in a blink of an eye Diana had him pinned to the ground with a dropkick.

"Bane, meet Wonder Woman," Batman smirked.

Diana winked at him in return, happy to find a challenging opponent. Confident that Bane wouldn't be a factor for much longer, Bruce could now turn his attention to Clark. But Clark wasn't there anymore! Ra's was dragging him away to one of the recesses of the cavern and Clark was so weakened that his attempts at resistance were feeble.

Batman looked towards the cave ceiling and saw a particularly large piece of stalactite. Using a calculated angle, he threw an explosive at it and it fell... right on top of Ra's! The kryptonite flew from Ra's's hand and Batman was there to collect it. He didn't have a compartment in his belt big enough to fit this size of kryptonite. Hopefully the further away he moved it from Clark the sooner Clark would able to recover his powers.

"Batson… he's in the fourth room from the right," Clark managed to gasp out as he struggled to regain his footing. Bruce wished that he could go over to help up his friend, but as he was saddled with Ra's's kryptonite, it would only be harmful to Clark. Instead, he nodded and rushed towards the room in question. Once at the door, he began to pick the lock when Ubu came roaring towards him. And just as suddenly as he appeared, he lurched and fell flat on his face!

CJ had shot a grappling hook low to the ground to fashion a tripwire. "Go, go, go!" the Super son waved his hand furiously at Bruce. Bruce nodded his thanks and returned his attention to the lock. With some minor maneuvering, he was successful! There, gagged with each limb tied to each bedpost was Batson. And because all of this had been too easy so far, there was Talia standing in the room with her arms crossed, looking utterly blasé.

The sight of him seemed to revive her senses. "Beloved?" she realized with a sultry quirk of her lovely brow.

"Talia!" said Bruce, his voice softening (as it always did around her).

Apparently this disturbed Batson, because he gave a muffled cry of protest. Talia frowned and sprayed his face with a solution kept by the bedside. He was out cold at once.

"An heir from my heir?" Bruce asked.

Talia looked away. "Father wants a grandson to continue his legacy. My duty is to my father, and this is a wish that only _I _can grant him. I must admit, however, that the prospect of taking your son is slightly more appealing than the prospect of Bane."

Bruce's eyes widened. "_Bane?_" he repeated, "Your father's alternative to having me as a son-in-law is Bane?"

"Believe me, I have been delaying it for as long as I can. I thought that your son might be the answer, but he acts nothing like you. He must take after his mother."

"He's not like his mother, either."

"Was she one of your old loves? Before me?" She pushed her hair aside and glanced up at him from her heavy-lidded eyes.

Bruce felt himself deflating under her spell. "…Yes."

Talia moved towards him. "And what of the loves you have had after me? Is the Amazon out there one of them?"

But Bruce was mesmerized by the sight of Talia's swinging hips as she walked over to him. Of all the women he had loved, Talia's hold on him was the most powerful, most primal…his nights with Selina seemed almost tame in comparison. Unable to resist, he pulled her against him. She averted her eyes with an artful blush. "Talia, Talia," he said softly, sliding his hands onto those maddening hips, "Wherefore art thou Talia?"

"I have orders from my father to kill you on the spot," she murmured, meeting his gaze.

"Deny thy father, and refuse thy name," he continued undeterred.

Sure enough, his effect on her was just as strong. She finally relented by snaking her arms around his neck and they shared a passionate kiss, made deeper by the years of separation and unabashed mutual attraction.

"Beloved," she gasped as she pulled back, "tie me up!"

Bruce's mind immediately jumped to one of their more 'primal' nights in Curacao. "…What, _now_?" he asked, confused.

Talia rolled her eyes as she extricated herself from his embrace. "_No_," she said firmly, "My father is mad this time. I have no desire to procreate with your son so I want you to take him and leave here as soon as possible. Tie me to something so that it seems like I could not pursue you as you made your escape."

"Right," agreed Bruce quickly. The moment had passed, and he was back to business as usual as he obliged, then freed Batson.

"It is only chloroform," Talia informed him. "He will recover on his own in a short time. Take care, Beloved."

Bruce threw Batson over his shoulder and walked out of the room only to be met with CJ standing right outside with his arms crossed. "Aunt Andrea, Talia al Ghul _and_ the Commander, Uncle Bruce?" CJ tsked disapprovingly.

Batman stared at him blankly, then shrugged. As long as the kid didn't find out about Lois. "If you have anything helpful to say about the matter, I'll hear it later. Are you vulnerable to kryptonite?"

"No."

"Then take this and wrap it up in one of Superman's lead-lined suits in the back of the Javelin. We're right behind you." CJ nodded and shot a grappling hook into the air, following it himself moments later. Meanwhile, Diana had just finished throwing aside Bane in a crumpled heap, his venom spilling out onto the floor instead of into his body. Bruce asked her to take Batson into the Javelin and when he handed him over to her he rushed to Clark's side.

Clark still looked very pale but he had managed to stave off Ra's for this long. Bruce immediately put his arm around him to offer him support. "Batson's fine," he told him before he could ask.

Clark smiled weakly. "They're good kids, Bruce," he said.

Bruce knew perfectly well that kryptonite didn't loosen Clark's inhibitions, but he also sensed that Clark wanted to use the kryptonite as an excuse to cover up the fact that he was suddenly becoming so sentimental. He decided to go along with it. "Yes," he agreed. He actually meant it.

**Xx**

Batson felt himself waking up to the image of his life-sized Wonder Woman poster as he did every morning. When he sensed that the poster was blinking back at him, he started to freak out just a little. So when CJ popped into his field of vision he cried out desperately, "CJ baby, I think I'm having a really bad trip!"

CJ cocked his head to the side. "Are you getting airsick?"

"…What? No! My Wonder Woman poster looks alive, man!"

"She's not a poster, bud."

It was dawning on Batson that this was not a marijuana-induced illusion and that he had indeed just been rescued from Ra's by this universe's _real_ Wonder Woman, so he decided to take advantage of the situation and do what he had always wanted to do. "Oh, gods, Wonder Woman!" he cried, throwing his arms around her and burying his face in her neck, "I was so scared!"

He felt Wonder Woman stiffen up and awkwardly pat his back so he made no move to loosen his grip, enjoying the feel of the most beautiful, powerful woman in the world in his (forced) embrace. But then Bruce quickly intervened and peeled him off of her, proving that he was a buzzkill at any atomic frequency. "That's _enough_," he growled, "Apologize to your Aunt Diana."

"_Aunt _Diana?" Batson demanded, "What, the three of you are homies in this universe or something?"

"Yes," CJ answered for him.

"Here, Diana, why don't you take the wheel?" Clark asked from the pilot's seat.

Wonder Woman nodded, looking amused at the proceedings. "It's nice to meet you, Batson," she remarked.

"Thank you, Commander," he deadpanned, "I don't know if I'm supposed to kneel or bow before you in this universe…"

Batman's firm hand was on his shoulder at once and forced him into one of the empty passenger seats. "Ignore him, Diana," he told her.

"Done," she grinned and turned to exchange places with Clark.

"Wow… wow," Batson observed to Bruce, "you two are a lot less scared of her in this universe than you are in mine." When he saw how astonished the World's Finest seemed at this, he amended quickly, "Just kidding… kind of."

Clark took a seat next to Batson, Wonder Woman was piloting the Javelin, Batman adjacent to her, and CJ languidly stretched out in the seats across the aisle.

"Dude, I can't believe you embarrassed yourself in front of the League Commander like that," CJ teased him.

Batson was appropriately horrified. "Well, *you* have a poster of her too, only yours is hidden in the back of your closet so your dad won't find out!"

CJ scrambled up and scowled. "Dude, NOT cool!"

The exchange was getting to be a little too much for Clark so he decided to break it up. "That's enough, you two," he intervened, "You should start getting ready to go home."

Batson instantly brightened up. "You fixed the teleporter?!" he cried to CJ.

CJ nodded animatedly. "Me and Batman!"

"Well well, you nerdy little buttface!" Batson marveled, leaning across the aisle. For one wild moment, it seemed like Batson and CJ were going to kiss each other. Then the moment passed and instead the two hugged it out like bros.

Clark and Bruce exchanged looks. Were the two kids…? No… they were just friends. Best friends. Still, Clark started to wonder what it would be like if someday he had a daughter and she dated Bruce's son. It sounded terrifying. Even worse, what if Bruce's daughter dated Clark's son? He broke into a cold sweat at the thought… if they thought Bruce was paranoid now!

"I love you, Batson buddy," CJ said. "We're going home!"

"I love you too, CJ baby! I can't wait until we're back in our own world."

Clark and Bruce gave each other looks again, while Diana was smiling at them mildly. That was it. He _had_ to ask. But how did one approach such a delicate subject? He would just do it quickly. Like peeling off a bandaid. "Listen, kids. Are you two… seeing each other?"

CJ looked at Batson. Batson looked at CJ. And both burst out laughing.

The Javelin zoomed over the Iceland. They were laughing. The Javelin crossed over the tip of Greenland. They were laughing. The Javelin coasted over the Atlantic. They were still laughing.

"It's not that funny," Bruce finally grumbled.

This set off another set of giggles. "No, you don't understand, it *is*!" Batson gasped.

"It's totally funny!" agreed CJ gleefully.

"Diana?" Bruce demanded, growing desperate.

"…It _is_ funny, Bruce," she pronounced, "Especially since there are similar rumors about you and Clark floating around in the Watchtower from what I understand…"

Batson and CJ were now howling with laughter, tears streaming down their faces. Bruce scowled and looked to Clark for support, but Clark shifted uncomfortably in his seat and wouldn't meet his gaze. Bruce sighed, thankful that the Javelin flew at twelve times the speed of a commercial jet. This trip was almost over.

* * *

**Hahaha, that last bit is for Bekkoni (and anyone else who senses the crazy UST between the World's Finest)! Once again like a good fangirl I tortured my most favoritest Clarkie. Batman is obviously sexy enough to quote Shakespeare in regular conversation without sounding like a tool. And Batson's obsession with Wonder Woman is more funny than weird (I hope)!**


	9. The last Super supper

**Full disclosure: I forgot about the earthquakes in the last chapter! I'm working them back into this one.**

Chapter 8: The last Super supper

Back in the Cave, Alfred was there to greet them all. When he learned where Batson had been for the last few hours, he insisted that the boys eat a good meal before their molecules were reshuffled back into their universe. Bruce attempted to protest but Alfred gave a decisive raise of his brow and declared that "he would not give the _other_ Alfred Pennyworth any reason to doubt his ability to care for the members of the Wayne family under any circumstances."

Clark half-raised his hand. "I was just exposed to a lot of kryptonite, Alfred," he offered tentatively.

"Then you must join us upstairs for dinner, Master Clark."

Any remaining traces of kryptonite-induced nausea seemed to vanish from Clark's face as he happily followed the three upstairs to the dining room.

Batman knew when he was beat and so began to work at the mainframe while Wonder Woman decided to catch up on her mission log dictations for the time being. They worked quietly until Bruce saw something on the monitor that he didn't like. "Diana, look," he said simply. She came to his side and her eyes widened as she studied the screen.

"A series of earthquakes at every site we flew over on our way from England," she observed aloud. "I don't understand – you said that fear was the trigger for these earthquakes?"

"They've been here for two days now. Their unstable molecules might have set off their previously stable ones too. Either that, or they might not require a trigger anymore."

"Then why this delay? We must send them back as soon as possible!"

Bruce gave her a wicked grin. "Granted you're not afraid of me, Princess, but I didn't see you object this strongly in front of Alfred." He received an Amazonian thwack in return.

Meanwhile, upstairs the Super Sons were seated on either side of Clark. Clark had spent a good amount of time with each of the boys individually but when the two were together their dynamics were next level (and to be perfectly honest Clark felt a little stunned by it all). The questions were coming at him, rapid-fire. "Clark, is there In-N-Out in this universe?"

"Why do you even care about In-N-Out? There's no In-N-Out in Gotham! Clark, is there McDonald's in this universe?"

"Dude, what the… You _know_ there's McDonald's in this universe! We passed like seven of them on our way here! We even went through their drive-thru earlier! No, Clark, answer me this: is there a Haagen-Dazs in this universe? Also, more importantly, what does Haagen-Dazs _mean_ in this universe?"

"Wait, Batson buddy… that's important, but shouldn't we ask _more_ important questions if we're breaking the 'no questions about parallel earths' rule?"

"You're absolutely right, CJ baby. Clark, is there a Beyoncé in this universe? AW YEAH!" The two boys reached across Clark to exchange elaborate high fives while Clark continued unobtrusively to eat his meal. "Speaking of beautiful women, Clark, what's the Commander's deal in this universe? Is she seeing that lucky bastiche Colonel Trevor?"

"DUDE, get this: in this universe, not only does your dad have history with your mom and _Talia al Ghul_, but with Wonder Woman too!"

"Wait, WHAT?! Uncle C, is this true?"

There was finally a pause in the conversation as both young men looked at him expectantly. It took a second for Clark to realize that they actually expected him to answer when they addressed him this time. "…Well, now," he began, unsure of how to explain his best friends' complicated romantic history, "It is true that Bruce and Diana—"

"It's true! My dad HIT THAT in this universe?!"

Clark's eyes widened as he backtracked quickly, "Well, now, I don't know if—"

"They're alone downstairs right now! No wonder you wanted to come up here with us!" CJ cried.

"Hey, that's unfair!" Clark protested weakly, "I just like Alfred's cooking."

But the Super Sons didn't hear him, so busy were they wrapping their heads around the implications of what they wanted to hear. "Yo, there is *definitely* some monkey business going on down there."

"They're probably making out all over the mainframe keyboard right now," CJ hypothesized placidly, "Putting up all sorts of weird characters onscreen. Making the spellchecker go crazy…"

"Dude, that's my _dad _you're talking about," Batson objected as he made a face, but then reconsidered. "But I _did_ inherit my mojo from him and he's the dude who's scoring with the Commander! AW YEAH!" They exchanged their bro-fives again.

Meanwhile Clark was muttering, "They never even went out on a single date…" but then sighed. It was no use. It was Bruce's own fault for being so… _flighty_.

The boys grew serious a few minutes later only when the ground began to shake. CJ glared. "Batson, remember the earthquake thing we talked about yesterday? I don't know what you're thinking about right now, buddy, but put a lid on it."

Batson shook his head blankly. "Ra's and Talia hit me with so many sedatives that I'm incapable of feeling any strong emotions right now."

"_What_ have we been doing this entire time?"

"Those were a little *baser* than emotions, if you know what I mean." His irreverent grin was interrupted when he nearly toppled over from an especially strong jerk of the earth.

Clark knew that it was time to get them downstairs in one piece without stirring up any of their emotions. "One of you is afraid right now, but you shouldn't be," he told them gently, standing up, "I'm here to keep you safe."

The rumbling became stronger. "You're making it worse, Superman," said CJ with a sad smile, "The trigger for the earthquakes isn't fear. It's love."

This resonated strongly with Superman. Big Clark and little Clark finally met eyes and the former felt a powerful tug behind the base of his sternum…and he understood. Despite their differences up until now he finally saw himself in CJ (it was the look in the boy's eyes!) and felt a wave of love and protectiveness so strong that it almost physically brought him to his knees. CJ was _his_ son. CJ was his _son!_

Of _course_ love was the trigger! What could be stronger than that?

"Dude, STOP loving your parallel dad!" Batson cried as he fell over again.

"Your molecules are becoming increasingly unstable," Clark explained, "We need to send you back home before not even the transporter pod can contain you." He scanned the next room over to check if Alfred was safe (he was) then grabbed the two boys to jet them to the Cave.

Batman and Wonder Woman appeared ready for them. "NOW," Batman bellowed as he waved them into the pod; Diana dodged falling chunks of stalactite as she slung her lasso around it and pulled tight; Bruce began to enter a combination of numbers into the transporter keypad and pressed the red button; Clark was only beginning to wish that he'd had a chance to say goodbye properly to the boys when the blue flash of light appeared and –

EXPLOSION!

The three of them were knocked back from the impact of the blast! Bruce flew up and smashed into the mainframe keyboard. Diana was flung onto the staircase. Clark fared slightly better and managed to steady himself with a flip as he was lobbed into the air and before the other two had shaken themselves back into consciousness he was digging through the wreckage of the transporter casing…

But there was no one there.

"Bruce!" he cried, "They're not here!"

"Then they were sent back," grunted Bruce as he gingerly slid off of the keyboard onto his feet. It was oddly still. He ran over to help up Diana (who had taken the strongest hit) and together they slowly made their way over to Clark, who was still on his knees sifting through the rubble.

Clark shook his head. "They couldn't have survived this explosion."

"The earthquakes have stopped, Clark. They're gone."

"You and I _both_ know that that doesn't happen when someone is transported!" Clark stood up so that he was face-to-face with Bruce and gave him a defiant glare. "It. Didn't. Work."

For a split second, Bruce wavered. If Clark and Diana didn't know him so well, they wouldn't have noticed it. But they did, and it was enough to confirm Clark's fears. Clark fell back; with a cry of frustration he slammed his fist against the wall next to mainframe. Huge chunks of rock fell from the Cave ceiling.

"Control yourself, Kent!" Bruce snarled.

"Don't take your anger at your failure out on me!" Clark snapped back. The two were facing off chest-to-chest again.

Annoyed by the petty bickering of the World's Finest, Diana extended her arms between them and forced them apart from each other. "That's enough!" she declared. Before she could berate them for their childishness, at that very moment something from the ceiling fell into her outstretched arms. The three of them gaped speechlessly at this new introduction for a good second before Batman was the first to collect his wits about him (naturally). "Batson," he said.

Batson was only coming to but managed to give a cheeky grin. "In the dangerously-incompatible-with-this-universe flesh!"

The look on Clark's face was one to see! "I'll find CJ," he offered, overwhelmed (as Bruce correctly suspected, he needed a moment to collect himself away from his friends).

"Are you all right?" Diana asked the boy she was now inadvertently carrying.

"Yes, thank you, Wonder Woman." (Somehow, Batson's arms had found their way around her neck again.) "That eruption was right below us and shot us straight up. See? My Toms are gone, back to my own universe, probably." He wiggled his bare toes to demonstrate.

"Judging by the energy with which you're exercising your jaw, you're well enough to stand on your own now," Batman remarked.

"No, I like it just fine here in Wonder Woman's embrace. It runs in the family, eh, dad?"

Bruce was temporarily dumbfounded.

Batson didn't miss a beat and turned his full powers of charisma onto Diana, who looked like she was seriously considering dropping him. "You know, Wonder Woman, if you decide to trade in for a younger model, I'm currently single. And unlike present company, I *can* express my emotions. I get that from my mother." This was followed by a flirtatious wink and a grin that would have surely disarmed a less experienced woman.

"Easy there, little man," replied Diana, who was amused in spite of herself, "The 'older model' is a dear friend of mine and has a few good years left in him yet." The air between Wonder Woman and Batman suddenly grew so thick with tension and _chemistry_ that Batson, who was experiencing it for the first time, felt solidly out of place and even gave an involuntary squirm. Fortunately he was spared further discomfort for Clark landed next to them wielding CJ in his arms.

Bruce looked from Diana carrying Batson to Clark carrying CJ in a near-mirror image. "For God's sake, they're grown men, not infants!" he grumbled loudly as he swept towards the mainframe.

"Actually, Batson didn't hit puberty until he was seventeen," CJ muttered as he slid out of Clark's grip.

"And yet I'm the one whom Wonder Woman hugged _twice_," Batson hissed back as Diana had to forcibly extract him from her person.

Bruce ignored them as he began to type furiously on the mainframe keyboard. "We have to find out what went wrong and see how to get you back before you set off another round of even stronger earthquakes." CJ bounded over to join him while Clark and Diana began to restore order to the Cave.

Batson meanwhile looked around absently until he noticed the console by the transporter pad. After inspecting it for some time he asked loudly, "Have you guys tried turning this knob to the 9 o'clock position?"

Bruce and CJ whipped around simultaneously with the same look of caution in their expressions. "Don't touch, bro!" CJ warned, "Why would we even do that?"

"Because I did that to the transporter pad on our universe before we got here," Batson explained as he started twisting the knob, "You know, we were going to see a cat at the Fortress… a cat has nine lives… _nine_ o'clock… yes, I was a little stoned."

Before any of them could react Batson pressed the red button to activate the transporter… and something happened! A blue light suspended in air and coruscated and grew. Clark recognized this at once. "Batson opened up a portal to his universe!" he exclaimed, ruffling the younger man's hair affectionately. Batman and CJ stared incredulously as they joined the other three.

Then there was a blinding flash of light and a sudden SNAP and Bruce found himself staring at the Batcave of an alternate universe. Standing in the midst of it – close enough for him to touch – was Batwoman!

It was her… it was Andrea.

Granted, half of her face was hidden under a cowl, but it was _her_ authoritative stance and _her _red hair billowing out in the back and _her_ lips (lips that at one point were more familiar to Bruce than his own) that demanded, "Are you the Justice Lords?" in _her_ too-familiar yet too-distant voice. The last time he had seen her twelve years ago, she had disappeared forever into a cloud of smoke with the Joker. Now Bruce couldn't tear his eyes away lest she disappear again.

"No," answered Superman, taking charge – he couldn't even begin to imagine what was going through Bruce's heart right now – "In this universe we are the Justice League, a team that works together for the ideals of peace and justice."

Batwoman held up Batson's shoe. "Why shouldn't I interpret this as a threat?" she demanded.

"Because we kept experimenting with the transporter to get us back and we kept failing," piped up CJ from behind Clark and then gave an excited little wave. "Hey, Aunt Andy!"

"CJ!" she exclaimed, visibly relieved, "Are you and Batson all right?"

"We're fine, mom," Batson answered, appearing from behind Clark's other side.

"Are all of these failed experiments too?" She stepped aside to reveal a pile of mannequin parts, all labeled 'C. J.' CJ nodded.

"Activating the transporters at the same time in both universes must have created this portal," offered Clark, whose working knowledge on these matters came from spending hours with Dr. Hamilton at STAR Labs, "You boys need to go home quickly before it collapses in on itself again." Batwoman nodded her agreement.

This suited Batson just fine. "Well, I guess this is goodbye!" he exclaimed cheerily and gave Wonder Woman another hug (this time she let him), then shook hands with Bruce and Clark before he jumped across the portal to where Batwoman put a protective arm around his shoulders at once. CJ also shook hands with Diana and Clark, thanking them in a low voice, then turned to Bruce.

He saw his alternate-mentor staring speechlessly at his would-be wife and son, drinking in the sight of them. _His_ Batman was so self-assured that seeing him like this made CJ want to cry. But no – he would _not_ cause another earthquake by feeling affectionate and sad. Instead, he crashed into Batman and wrapped him a tight hug.

This snapped Bruce back to reality, and, to Diana and Clark's utter surprise, he returned the hug just as strongly. CJ let go and shook his hand. "Take care of yourself, Uncle Batman," he smiled.

"You too."

CJ sprung through the portal into his own universe where Batwoman enclosed him with her other arm. He accepted gladly, then turned to give one last look at the three heroes who had protected him for the last two days.

The boys waved at them. In another blinding flash of light, the portal disappeared. And just like that, the Super Sons were back home, safe and sound.

* * *

**In the original comics, Haney tried to explain away the Super Sons by saying that they were computer stimulations that Batman and Superman ran in the Fortress just for fun. However, in that last issue, through a programming glitch they became real! But they were so unstable that they caused earthquakes right, left, and center. The only way to save the earth was to destroy the Super Sons. When Bruce Jr and Clark Jr found out, they jumped into a huge disintegrator pit – effectively killing themselves to save the world. Batman and Superman are left hanging their heads in the Fortress. It is SO creepy and I hated it so much that I *had* to write this story to give them a happy ending!**

**The way I picture him, Batson is totally the type of guy who would wear Toms. CJ probably sports a sensible pair of Adidas sneakers…Star Wars editions. Aw yeah! The next chapter will wrap everything up, so stay tuned for one final installment!**


	10. Super fluff Epilogue

Chapter 9: Super fluff / Epilogue

Clark was the first to speak. "Bruce, they were—"

"Don't, Clark," Bruce warned, "Just don't."

Clark wanted to protest, but he just didn't have it in him right now. They hung their heads in sadness.

Diana placed a gentle hand on each of their shoulders. "If you need anything, you know where to find me." She quietly retreated, looking back at them more than once, and a few minutes later they heard the sound of the Javelin leaving the Cave.

Neither man spoke for a few minutes. Finally, Clark sighed and flew over to set Batman's giant penny back upright. Bruce followed his lead and wiped off the rocky debris from one of the workstations. They worked silently side-by-side to restore the Cave to order for some time before Clark remarked, "So that was Andrea?"

"Yes." He had been thinking about her, of course.

"Seeing her was pretty tough."

"Please, Clark," Bruce retorted, "I'm not in the mood to be psychoanalyzed by you right now."

"It was tough for _me_," Clark corrected him, "Imagine how much easier my life would be if I had someone like her around to share the responsibility of keeping you from turning into a hopeless recluse."

"No one asked you take that responsibility," Bruce snapped.

"I know, but it's my favorite thing to do. You're my best friend, Bruce. As difficult as you make that, I enjoy being around you because I love you."

Bruce looked at Clark and nearly rolled his eyes at the sight: Clark was levitating inches above the ground and one of the recess lights in the Cave illuminated him in a shaft of bright light. All he was missing was a harp and a halo.

"In a way, I'm glad that this happened. It gave me a lot of hope to see that you at least have the _potential_ to be happy."

"Kent, having a wife and kids is _your_ idea of happiness, not mine."

"Point. But I'm more focused on the emotion of 'happiness' rather than the route you take to get it. See, it _is_ possible for you to be happy and be Batman at the same time. I've been right all along!"

Bruce considered what his unsolicited angel was saying and came up with an idea to repay Clark for all of the *annoying* (but very gruffly and _very_ secretly appreciated) help he had given him over the years. "There may still be one way for me to be happy in our universe." Clark's whole face perked up; he resembled an eager puppy who had just been hinted a rare treat in Bruce's unfinished statement. "Marry Lois."

Clark blinked twice.

"It's not a secret that Batson and CJ didn't always get along with their fathers, but they had great relationships with their uncles. It's too late for me to have a Batson, but you, Clark – you can still have a CJ."

"Bruce, I just don't know if it's the right time to ask her to marry me, especially after this CJ incident. We could have had a seventeen year old kid by now! What if I've waited too long?"

"And you say I'm the one who's afraid of being happy. Your excuses are getting boring."

Clark furrowed his brow as he reflected on what Bruce was saying now and what Batson had said earlier. His heart was beating furiously because it was so *clear* how silly he had been for the last seventeen years! Before Bruce knew what was happening, Clark had his arms wrapped around his torso and was giving him a squeeze in almost the exact manner that CJ had hugged him right before he left. It was because he reminded him of CJ that Bruce groaned and gave him two deliberate pats on his back before straining to be released.

Clark let go serenely. "It's time for us to be happy, Bruce!"

**Xx**

The truth was that Bruce had been doing some thinking of the melancholy, regretful sort, but what Clark said made him almost *hopeful*. _But I'm the goddamn Batman_, he protested weakly to himself as he descended in the Watchtower landing bay the next day.

Just as he thought, Wonder Woman was alone in the Dormitory Deck A lounge watching a Greek soap opera that she regularly followed. When he walked in, she lowered the volume of the TV and smiled at him. "If you're here with the official paperwork to make me the Commander of the Justice League in this universe, I have to tell you that I don't hate the idea," she joked.

"Ha ha," Bruce intoned. "I'm actually here to thank you. We couldn't have sent the boys home without your help."

"My pleasure. I enjoyed meeting Batson and CJ." She leaned forward. "And Batwoman? She was Batson's mother?"

"Andrea Beaumont. We met in college, got engaged, then she suddenly left with her father when he got in trouble with the mob. She came back years later to exact revenge on her father's killers. Died fighting the Joker."

Diana leaned back. "I'm sorry." She pushed her hair behind her ear. "Thank you for sharing that with me. I'm beginning to see why you are the way you are."

That Diana, she thought she knew him so well. Well, she did, actually, which was why he could never intimidate her into silence. Perhaps it was time to try something other than intimidation with her. He reached under his cape to produce a single red rose, which an amazed Diana accepted wordlessly. Sometimes, he rather liked rendering her speechless.

However, she quickly gathered her wits about her; with narrowed her eyes she pointed the rose at him. "I hope you know that this doesn't mean I'm going to give you a son," she stated.

It was his turn to be speechless.

"…At least, not right away," she finished with a wink as she sensed him squirm. She gently brushed the petals against the skin under her nose. "This is beautiful, Bruce. Thank you. What's the occasion?"

It was now or never. He sat across from her. "If somewhere there's a Bruce Wayne who can balance a wife, a son, and a godson with being Batman, I figure this version of me can afford to go out on a date with someone he's wanted to for a long, long time."

Diana's cheeks turned a scarlet that rivaled the rose. She had given up trying to talk to Bruce about the obvious, glaring chemistry between them after their embarrassing conversation the night of the Circe incident, so naturally this profession of his was nothing short of a thunderclap.

Bruce saw this. He stood, but instead of exiting the lounge he took a seat next to her and turned up the volume. "I have five minutes," he said, "Did Antigoni find out that Pavlos is in love with his bone marrow donor's wife?"

Diana's mouth fell open.

He was enjoying this immensely as he used a single finger to gently lift her jaw back into place. "Maxie Zeus has been watching this show for years, and I've been watching him for years," he explained as he reveled in his victory for this round.

**Xx**

Clark arrived at his apartment late the next day. He had spent all morning securing his parents' and General Lane's approval to propose to Lois. His parents had been kind and supportive, and even his future father-in-law had conveyed his pleasure by stating, "It's about damn time, Kent."

He figured he'd wash up and then invite Lois to dinner at Bessolo, where he'd ask her to marry him! He was just deliberating whether he should call ahead and ask what kinds of foods he could hide an engagement ring in when he walked into the living room and saw Lois herself waiting for him!

She stood up at once. "Clark!"

"Lois! How long have you been here?"

"Oh, you know," she shrugged, playing it cool as she raked a hand through her hair, "since last night."

Clark noticed her smudged makeup, the empty bottle of wine, and the pile of Whitesnake CDs by the stereo and realized that she wasn't exaggerating. In one fluid motion he strode towards her and pulled her in for a tender kiss.

"I'm sorry I lied to you, Lois," he said, resting his forehead against hers.

She stroked his cheek. "I'm sorry for reacting the way I did. You would never lie to me without a good reason. I should know that."

"I think… I was afraid to tell you the truth. But I'm not anymore." He took her hand and guided her to the sofa. "CJ wasn't my cousin. He accidentally ended up here from another dimension. His parents are Clark Kent and Lois Lane."

Lois's eyes widened. Her hand flew to her mouth. "He was _our_ son?"

"From another dimension," he quickly reminded her.

"Great Scott, Smallville!" she cried, borrowing one of his childhood expressions, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"…I thought it would scare you away. _I_ was thrilled when I found out, but – well, it's no secret that I've always cared about you a little more than you've cared about me."

"Don't exaggerate, Clark. That's not true!"

"But it _is_. You see, Lois," he said as he dug around in his pocket, "I've been carrying something around with me every day ever since the day we went out on our first date."

Lois's heartbeat quickened as she realized what was about to happen.

"Because even though it was a lunch date – which according to Jimmy meant you were trying to blow me off – I knew that I wanted to be with you for the rest of my life." He slid off the couch and kneeled before her. "Well, I've got nothing to lose right now, so I'll be honest: I've known _that_ since the day I met you."

Her hand flew to her mouth again when he presented her with a glittering, gold diamond ring. "Lois Lane, will you marry me?"

Pulitzer Prize-winning Lois Lane, an acknowledged and celebrated master of words, found herself struggling to search for one them – until she remembered a word that would work perfectly in this situation. "Yes! YES."

Victorious, Clark shot straight up to give a couple of celebratory fist pumps in the air… and dropped the engagement ring in the process. "Uh oh," he said when he realized what had happened.

Lois just gave a crazed laugh, violently happy as she was. They spent the next minute on their hands and knees searching the camel-colored carpet for the ring before Lois finally suggested, "X-ray vision!"

"Oh right! There, right behind you!"

"Aha!" she declared triumphantly as she swiped at it and handed it over to Clark.

He slid the ring onto her finger and the two laughed a little breathlessly.

"Would you marry me as I am?" he suddenly demanded. He was dressed in a red flannel shirt and jeans; his hair was unruly and his glasses were missing; he smelled like sweet hay and Kansas sunshine and even a hint of bergamot. He couldn't have been more of a contrast to Lois in her khaki Stella McCartney suit and Manolos.

"Fortunately, yes," she admitted, grinning…_beaming_. The two leaned forward and shared an impassioned, jubilant kiss sitting cross-legged on the floor, their whole shining future unfurled before them.

**EPILOGUE**

It was a very happy Clark indeed who had his Lois snuggled up against him in bed that night. He was wearing a freshly-laundered pair of his college sweats, while Lois's smelled like the strawberry Yoohoo he had accidentally spilled on her earlier. It was a lovely smell, though. They were admiring the look of their engagement ring on her finger when they heard the balcony doors open. Clark, nearest to the balcony, turned over while Lois snaked one arm over his waist from behind him and rested her chin on his shoulder to see who was there.

"Congratulations," said Batman, holding up a cell phone (the exuberant number of exclamation points on the screen were visible even from a distance).

Lois looked at Clark and then punched his arm. Hard. "Oh jeez, Smallville, you told him over a _text message_?!"

Clark blushed. "I was too shy to say it out loud!"

"What am I getting myself into?" muttered Lois loud enough for Clark to hear, but her grip around him tightened.

Batman spoke. "When you two have a child, I'm going to be the godfather."

"Of course," agreed Clark at once, trying not to let his expression betray his surprise and _delight_, "We wouldn't have it any other way." Lois squeezed his hand in agreement.

To their increasing shock, he continued. "You're going to let me pay for their education and any years they may want to take off to backpack through South America."

"Bruce, that's too generous—"

"You don't get a say in the matter." Clark gave a little yelp of terror. "And you're going to invite me to at least one Thanksgiving or Christmas per year."

"…Wow! Well, we were making Thanksgiving plans for Smallville this year—"

"AFTER the kid is born," growled Bruce.

Clark obliged quickly. He couldn't believe that Bruce was expressing his feelings as it was. _He_ knew that Bruce was a softy somewhere deep inside; maybe now Lois would believe him when he said it.

"Back to patrol?" asked Lois, amused (and touched) at this exchange.

"No. Paris. I have a date." He turned to leave from the balcony, but then looked over his shoulder. "One last thing," he added to the stunned couple.

"Anything," said Clark earnestly.

"Come up with a better name than Clark Jr."

The last thing Bruce heard as he left was Lois roaring, "I let you name our kid CLARK JUNIOR?!"

* * *

"Though friendships differ endless _in degree_,  
The _sorts_, methinks, may be reduced to three.  
_Ac_quaintance many, and _Con_quaintance few;  
But for _In_quaintance I know only two—  
The friend I've mourned with, and the maid I woo!"

- Coleridge

* * *

**That's it! Super fluffy happy endings for all! I'm going to miss Batson and CJ :( However, if you want to read stories about Clark being adorable, I've written way too many of those *shameless plug*!**

**To the ****highly attractive, SILENT followers of this story: I'd love to hear what you think! Don't make me feel silly by not obliging me a little :) Thanks for reading the Super Sons! Hopefully it piqued your interest enough to make you want to pick up an old issue featuring these two crazy kids next time you're at your LCBS!**


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